THE MATRIX RELOADED review

What is THE MATRIX RELOADED? It’s a film filled with cool images and ideas, that never has the courage to live up to its own imagination. A film that never truly takes flight and always seems to be pulling it’s punches. Is that because nobody ever seems to get bruised in this film? That swords seem to do the same amount of damage in this film as they do in the typical TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE cartoon?

I have to deal with spoilers, because the only way to really deal with the profound disappointment that I have with MATRIX RELOADED is to delve into the larger failures of the film. HOWEVER, before I do that… I’ll deal with the non-spoilers summary for you folks that just have to know.

If you enter the movie about 45 minutes into the film, you wouldn’t really miss much. There’s Neo’s bad dream, a whole bunch of really really mediocre Zion stuff, a few kung fu fights that are all variations on Punch, Block, Pivot, Kick, Punch, Punch, Block, Block. With about that much emotion. The Rave is embarrassingly bad. The Zion council is bad. Morpheus’ speech to Zion is bad. Anthony Zerbe is really bad. “The Kid” is incredibly bad. The design is cool, the look is cool, although the “Cotton is the fabric of our lives” world of Zion fashion is a bit grating. Nona Gaye shouldn’t act, her eyes convey indifference, instead of love, concern, passion and regret… which seems to be what her character is supposed to be trying.

Then the second the Oracle arrives, the movie begins to have a pulse. In fact, everything that the glorious Gloria Foster says is magic… What she’s telling Neo, the things she’s talking about, the concepts she’s introducing lit my imagination. The idea that we might be headed in those directions thrilled me. I truly mean that. If the film would only deliver on her words… Then this film was going to hit me with surprises worthy of secrecy and hushes. Alas, this film never lives up to its own imagination. It never delivers on Neo’s phone call that ended the last film:

NEO

“I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid... afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you. A world without rules or controls, borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.”

Ok - What did you imagine he meant by that, when he suddenly dropped the phone and flew away? For me, it meant that Neo’s mind was open. That he was going to free others’ minds… Not just by giving them pills, but showing them that gravity wasn’t real. That there jobs were not real. That when they fell and broke a bone, that that wasn’t real. That there are no buildings, no food, no drinks and no clothes. That there were no laws that bound us mentally or politically. That the world of super-beings was in our grasp within the realm of the Matrix. That guns and weapons were useless, that punches and kicks were irrelevant, that once you could see the code you could unravel it and make it your servant rather than it your master. Neo was going to change it all.

Not really. Hell, turns out, Neo doesn’t even teach his best and closest souls how to unravel an agent. He doesn’t even open the minds of those closest to him, much less his own. He’s forgotten the lessons he learned in the last film. He still allows himself to enter into physical combat, though… doesn’t he know there is no blows, no punch, no fist or arm or body behind it?

My disappointment with THE MATRIX RELOADED isn’t that it is a bad movie, it isn’t. It’s good. Hell, there are times when it’s even pretty goddamn cool. However, at nearly every single choice the Wachowski’s made in this film, they chose to be pedestrian, repetitive and boring. The film suffers from being cute and selling itself short. Hell, if we are to believe the hype, this is pretty much the last time we have an adventure IN THE MATRIX. We’ve been told in publicity and by Joel Silver and the cast that the next film takes place MOSTLY in the “Real World” – So they were going to really blow the lid off of the fantasy world of THE MATRIX right? Wrong.

Seemingly, Neo can’t rip someone’s code apart anymore. Not that it is really ever mentioned, only that well… he’s just going into Kung Fu instead of the “higher powers” he left the last film with. I bet like me, you probably think that flying was just one of many “powers” that Neo would unleash in this film… right? Nope, he can fly – and do kung fu, that’s about it…. Oh and stop bullets.

Sad. Sad because I watched this film… watched how bloody wonderful some of it was… I listened closer to this film, than most any film I’ve seen this year and while that first part nearly broke my ears with pain – the part that broke my heart was when this film just ceased caring. If I had to compare THE MATRIX RELOADED to a film, it would have to be THE LAST ACTION HERO.

AT THIS POINT… I’m Going To Begin Heading Into Spoiler Territory. Do not go beyond this point if you want to remain pure…

You remember how in the LAST ACTION HERO, Arnie’s character was all powerful, cuz he was the hero? How when he comes into the real world, and the Charles Dance’s character gets part of the magic ticket… Begins looking through that newspaper circling ads of movies with promising villains to pull from the screen… Like TALOS and DRACULA – and how instead of bringing a 200 ft bronze statue into the center of town, he brings the one villain that we’ve already seen our hero defeat?

Essentially… That’s THE MATRIX RELOADED. Instead of introducing new concepts given realization on screen, they do nothing but reintroduce old concepts for cinematic devices. Agent Smith… we’ve got a hundred of em. Never mind that we already have seen Neo beat him, perish that thought, what’s cool is there’s a hundred of them. And Neo is going to fight them as if he had to. Why? I don’t know. Is he going to win, not really. Is he going to lose, not really. So what’s the point? EXACTLY.

At the end of the last film he could destroy code. This time… apparently he can’t or won’t. Seems the only character that’s learned anything new was Agent Smith, I guess that’s why he would be a more interesting character than Neo… Just as the Joker is more interesting than Batman and Lex Luthor more compelling that Superman. As opposed to Marvel heroes, where the heroes are as compelling, if not more so. But hey… this is Warner Brothers… D.C. rules apply.

Ok, on that LAST ACTION HERO thing, I talk about how the film introduced a really cool concept that it then didn’t deliver on… SAME HERE… The Oracle tells Neo that basically there are strange bizarre “Rogue” programs on the Matrix. Angels, Demons, Werewolves, Vampires. All those bedtime nightmares, and whispered hushed tales of the supernatural… they’re all real here. Ok… I’m on board. Cool. Ready to see all that freaky shit? Me… Too!

Ok, so at this point we get the first “rogue program” showing down against Neo… Agent Smith times 100. A pointless battle that serves no purpose, does nothing for any of the characters and seemingly is multiple steps backwards in terms of the alleged progression that Neo made in the last film. If he can stop bullets, could he not stop all force directed at him? Or maybe his monkey brain isn’t quite there yet.

Ok, to underline how pointless the fight was, he just flies off, and the hundred agents just sort of wander off in this and that direction… Wow, how utterly unthrilling.

Ok, so now we’re supposed to hook up with a very old rogue program that was supposed to be deleted a long long time ago, going by the name Merovingian. In a film with about 10 new awful characters, Merovingian is the jewel. The Twins are not really a character, they’re just visuals, not really any personality at all. Merovingian might very well be the first “Neo” type being in the Matrix. Monica Bellucci’s Persephone tells us that he was once like Neo, but really who knows? They don’t delve into it, but she also informs us that Merovingian employs very old programs that are very difficult to kill, she then pulls out a gun with Silver bullets and disposes of one, and tells the other to leave and tell her husband. OK. Now on the screen behind them, these two were watching BRIDES OF DRACULA, the best vampire film that has ever been… So we’re about to see Vamps or Werewolves or a shitload of cool monsters right?

At this point, I’m extremely frickin excited, because I know we’re dealing with Werewolves and Vampires. That Merovingian, who is a man of style and taste, that has learned every language on the planet and favors the world of Old Europe in terms of style, has a passion for French, cooking and the flesh of fine females. His dialogue about the illusion of choices is my favorite of all the “high” dialogue in the film, till the architect.

When Merovingian shows up to face Neo, Trinity and Morpheus… Trinity and Morpheus take off after the Keymaker and NEO is going to handle Merovingian and his team of old programs / allegedly supernatural beings.

Instead we just get another martial arts battle with weapons that only seem to really affect solid inert objects. Though they’ve opened the door to Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies and what not… We’re not getting them. We just get more kung fu. They fucking opened the door to things cooler than kung fu and all they give us are Wraiths for Trinity and Morpheus to deal with, meanwhile Mr. THE ONE is left to deal with a bunch of pansy ass Red Shirt Kung Fu fools that apparently might be Angels and Demons and things beyond imagining… Oh… but we’re not going there? God forbid one of them AKIRA’s out… or does anything beyond Wire Fu.

They suggest that it might be coming, then don’t go there? FUCK THAT! This film features about 5 fights of Neo fighting folks Kung Fu fashion… BIG FUCKING DEAL, we got the idea at the end of the last one, that he could tear an Agent apart from the inside. But now… well now he’s very limited by his mind. He seems to have built fences all around it. Just as the Wachowski Brothers seem to have built around their own imaginations.

I wouldn’t be ranting about not having the Vampires and Werewolves and Angels and Demons and what not had they never suggested it, but they did. They said it could happen, then they gave us Kung Fu… Again… against the one character in this film that we know you don’t fuck with with Kung Fu.

The film truly feels like an unexplored first draft that nobody ever added a suggestion to. It feels like a hyperactive version of the first film, lacking all the emotional journey. Hell, when at the end, they break the news that Zion has been destroyed, it literally feels like… “Oh yeah, Zion was destroyed dude… Total suckage! They’re all kaput!” Like a vaseline covered toilet seat, it’s just… WHOA! What the fuck did you just say? Zion is destroyed? You mean, you’ve been wasting my time with Kung Fu when you could have been showing me the last human city on earth’s fight against the machines? I mean, talk about complete and total irrelevance of events. 12 people fucking around the Matrix or hundreds of thousands of robots versus men in power armor, rayguns, city defenses and that desperate fall of mankind? Which would you want to see? Which is the more significant event?

For NEO, definitely its his meeting with the architect, which was a pretty damn good condescending sermon to the monkey boy Neo. Btw… watch the TV monitors, when the Architect is talking about the foulest most evil people of man’s past, they flash from Hitler to George Bush – I’M NOT SHITTING.

Ok, now admittedly I like where we are at the end of this film. Prophecies don’t mean shit, mankind seems totally fucked, everything we know doesn’t mean a thing and where the hell do they go from here… But dear god, it is like all that Zion stuff at the beginning was just worthless because… apparently most of those people are dead and not a part of the series from here on out, so it’s like… “Here’s what Zion is… Yeah, it’s like if New York were set in Carlsbad Caverns and if everyone wanted to party cuz the end of the world is coming.

The dialogue in this film is very spotty, the music is fairly annoying and sometimes painfully calls attention to itself.

What did I love? I loved Frenchie’s discussion about choice and the special slice of dessert he concocted… best moment of the film. The Big Brawl is pointless, but cool. The Highway scene is ultimately underwhelming… The fight on Semi-top doesn’t feel like it is on a Semi-top going 60 mph… Don’t get me wrong, the background is certainly blurring past at that type of speed, but I never get the idea that the wind is affecting either Morpheus or the Agent or the Keymaker. Trinity’s motorcycle ride with the Keymaker is AWESOME! The Twins are very cool, but we learn nothing about them, but the mere existence of them made me hunger for the characters that Neo was fighting to be every bit as out of the ordinary as they were… instead of stock bad guys from sub par Joel Silver Martial Art films.

I’m seeing the film again this Wednesday at the Alamo Drafthouse as part of a double feature with the original Matrix. I’m told that apparently the movie is better upon second viewings, cuz we apes obviously need to see it once before seeing it the first time so our simian lobes can wrap around it.

So I wonder if seeing it once will improve the dialogue of the first hour or so, or make that lifeless retarded rave interesting, or those terrible Zion actors better performers? I wonder if a second viewing will allow me to understand why the Neo in this film isn’t the Neo we left in the last film? Or why the film seems so distracted by making cute winks regarding the various Matrix materials out there, instead of telling a compelling story. I wonder if I’ll think these characters are smarter than Frank Darabont’s characters in NIGHTMARE OF ELM STREET 3: THE DREAM WARRIORS, cuz once they knew they were going into a dream, they developed and opened their minds and released their potential, whereas here… nobody is living up to their potential?

I was never disappointed by THE PHANTOM MENACE or ATTACK OF THE CLONES, cuz I expected George Lucas to overtly play to children with his new films. I loved the original MATRIX, in many ways I was the first fan of it outside the production world cuz I got that script about 2 years before the film existed. I loved that script because at every turn it made the smart choice. Here… in a film that seems to talk rather incessantly about choices, the characters and the filmmakers made a lot of bad ones.

If you go in and you don’t think too terribly hard about the film and you kind of half listen to the dialogue, you’ll come away loving it. But don’t let the potential of anything anyone says give you an idea that you’ll see anything in this film that ups the level of imagination over the last film… Cuz unfortunately… it just ain’t gonna happen.

All I can say is...Wow. I expected a gushing review. I kinda skipped through it to avoid things I didn't want spoiled, but I think I got the basic idea. All I can say is, it's probably a good thing that my expectations are a little lower for this film because I was building it up to be the best movie ever made only seeing the trailers. I know the Wachowskis are geniuses and I know even if this film is not worth it, Revolution will be. I'm still going to the 10:00 show on Wednesday, and I sure as hell hope I'm not feelig the same way that Senor Harry did.

I saw X-2 and I liked it but it got way too much praise on this site. It was an ok movie with some fantastic action scenes but not a great overall film. So, Harry dislikes Matrix reloaded? Maybe he's right but I'll wait until Wednesday to make up my own mind...I'll read harry's review in full after I see it so I don't get spoiled.

but i won't know why until i see the movie cause i didn't read the whole review, (trying to keep spoiler free for this one) but its too bad it was THAT much of a disappointment, I think the 1st one is one of the best movies ever made, so you can understand why i'm looking forward to these sequels and why i'm still optimistic. when i don't agree with harry, its cause he's much more positive about certain flicks that i can't get that much enthusiasm for (blade 2, fer example - but i'm going to give it another try, and sw2 - which had a great 1st act premise, great 3rd act, minus some real resolution - and an inexcusably bad 2nd act - but that's not all that relevant.) unfortunately, i usually agree with the mixed/negative reviews that harry and mori write up. my only hope is that the problems (which i specifically didn't read about because of spoilers) aren't that distracting to me and that the action, plot and pacing completely redeem its existence.

Seriously, Harry was all riled up to not like this so that he could look cool by not liking what is definitely the best flick of the year. He set this up weeks ago with his review of X2. Harry - get a life, you fat loser.

after opening weekend. But the large number of mixed/negative reviews tells me it's not going to be the number one hit of the year. All of you Matrix fans that said these films would be the "new holy trilogy"...how's that shit tasting right now, hm?

Isn't that a royal shame! The best looking and most eagerly antisipated film of the year seems to be a huge dissapointment. I wonder if Joel Silver is ready to eat his words about there being no bar? Well still gonna see it. I still reckon it will be great. Just not as good as any of us could have hoped. In the meantime X2 is my fave sequel of the year so far. So well made, capturing all of the appropriate character moments. Now lets hope they actually make X3 bigger and better. Lets also hope that we all disagree with the critics and that Revouloutions will be as brilliant as we all hope. On a side note, that darned trailer link doesnt work for me. akj2@aber.ac.uk

And now I'm almost positive this movie will end up being one of the Summer's best. Minority Report was one of last year's best, and Harry had the exact same reaction to it. He was underwhelmed. Can't wait. Of course, if it does suck, I'll totally agree with the guy. I just doubt it will.

Not in Talkback land. If he likes it, he's a sellout. If he doesn't like it it's "hey Harry, didn't Warner's kiss your ass enough?? Etc.. Imagine what it must be like to have your own opinion. Even an unpopular one. Garsh!

I thought this was supposed to be the best thing since the invention of the wide-mouth beer can.....what happened....was I lied to all of this time?....FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY...WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE NOW??? ALL THE POSTERS AND ALL OF THE ACTION FIGURES AND GAMES AND FAST FOOD CUPS AND PRESS CLIPPINGS ARE WORTHLESS??? WAS I THE VICTIM OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS MACHINE???? WHAT THE HELL DO I DO WITH ALL OF THIS STUFF NOW???? IT'S ALL WORTHLESS ON Ebay NOW!!!! I CANNOT GO ON DAMMIT!!!! I GOTTA JUMP!!! I GOTTA JUMP!!!!!! I CAN'T TAKE THIS LIFE IF WARNER BROTHERS HAS MADE CRAP!!!! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO ahh fuck it...I'll wait for hulk....And thus, I am selling Matrix shit cheap! - - - George, The 7th Chicken!!!!

It will lock up Winamp3.
It will lock up Windows Media Player.
It will lock up RealPlayer.
It will lock up any window that displays the .avi file outside of your decompressor.
It could be a virus of some sort, but I wouldn't know as I use protection.

HOW IN THE HELL COULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND DISLIKE THIS???? STORY???? DISAPPOINTED BY THE STORY???? BUT IT HAS GOT COOL SHOTS OF THINGS FLYING IN SLOW MOTION!!!! IT HAS DIGITAL EFFECTS!!! IT HAS KUNG FU!!!!!! WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' STORY WHEN WE HAVE KUNG FU!!!!! FU - DAMMIT! - FU!!!!!!!!!!!!....And thus, I am off to see Malibu's Most Wanted, again! - - - George, The 7th Chicken!!!!

Why make The Matrix (the film) absolutely meaningless by not making Neo follow trough and beyond what happened to him in the first one? I aleays thought the sequel would be an epic spiritual adventure, "Kundun" meets "Terminator" - rise of the humans with Neo as their Dalai Lama. Sounds like Silver wanted the brothers W to take the safe route - more action while the more philosopchical stuff and the true potential of the universe created stays in the dialogue. Gotta fill them multiplexes, eh? ( Maybe the effect of not having The Invisibles around to rip off anymore took a bigger chunk out of this franchise's ass than anyone could guess.) Well, Reloaded can't be worse than DareDevil which was praised to high heaven for the stuff that really wasn't in the film, even, so eye of the beholder and all that stuff...I'll see this but not in a rush...

I'm the first to admit that if you live and die by what a critic writes, then you may never watch a movie again. We are simply guides. If you read enough, you'll be able to spot critics with a similar taste in film as you. When you find that, you still don't take anything he or she writes to heart. Make up your own mind, that's the key.
I'll also admit that most of us critics simply like to write. We need to come up with 700 words to basically say, "This was great," or, "this sucked." Harry, bless his heart, goes on and on in his review about how he wanted to see werewolves in this film. I believe this illustrates one of the greatest mistakes in film writing: not accepting the movie for what it is.
Harry likes slasher flicks and cheesey monster movies. More power to him. It just seems illogical to want a film to be something it's not instead of enjoying it for what it is. Once you start reviewing movies, it's hard to remember why you started doing it in the first place. Trust me, I know.
I was so jaded at every new film I saw that I wound up not liking anything for a long while. I needed a break. I needed to watch films, not for my job, but for fun. After all, that's how 99.9 percent of the population watches movies ... for fun.
I'm still in the middle of my break and as a result, I turned down the chance to see RELOADED today at the press screening. I concider myself a fan and I want to watch it with fans, not with people that are being paid to watch it.
Here's my suggestion to Harry: Take a break. Turn AICN over to someone else for a while. It doesn't have to be a long while, but just long enough to lose the jade. I love what AICN has done for fans of film and I'll freely admit that I'm jealous of Harry and all he has been able to do and see. That's why I offer my suggestion, I don't want Harry to lose it. I want him to remember why he started AICN in the first place. I want him, and everyone, to simply be entertained by a movie.
And another thing: As I said above, I've yet to see the film. Harry could be right on, for all I know, and the movie could suck. I'm willing to accept that chance. I'm also willing to accept the chance of greatness. I'm not sure Harry was.
It's not the difference of opinion. It's not because he gave it a bad review. It's because there's a trend I see with Harry in all his reviews and I'm concerned.
Open minded, people. That's what we need to be.

... that you get yourself so excited about the film that it can't possibly meet your expectations. The Two Towers did that to me ... the trailers made it seem unbelievable, you were constantly jizzing over it, and in the end it wasn't as good as the first. I suspect that's why you don't like Reloaded. And it's why I'm staying away from hype about the film. I'm just gonna go in and watch it on its own merits. You should try it sometime.

THE MATRIX never was a movie that I could immediately fall in love with. I caught it on its second weekend in D.C., and I distinctly remember thinking, "Is that all?" I thought it was interesting, but it was a decent - not spectacular - film. After watching it a couple more times on DVD, aware of my personal feelings about it and free from the hype, I began to warm up to it more and more, and I now I consider it quite good. But people aren't remembering quite their initial reactions to the first movie, only the hype that reminds them that THIS IS IT!!!! I imagine I'll probably think RELOADED is good the first time and great the second time. You just don't absorb it all the first go around.

The New Yorker critic, Adam Gopnick, has an exhaustive and eloquent review, and he hits the nail square on the head. I saw "Reloaded" today, and man oh man, it is disappointing. The best special effects you've ever seen, but there's no heart, no character development, no suspense. The Twins are completely stupid. The love scene is the most boring and passionless piece of crap. The heroes are suddenly surrounded by goofy supporting characters that resemble the crew of the latest expendable WB sci-fi series (can you say "Andromeda"?) The long gobbledygook speeches are boring to the point of tears, and they just keep coming. The Matrix has crashed. Do not reboot.

This is the reason why you don't raise your expectations for a movie. Harry himself said, "this is a good movie." Had he uttered that line for any other movie, this would be a positive review. However, Harry expected something that would make him cream his geek pants....or something like that using his language. As far as I can tell, the movie doesn't make any faults, Harry does.
What's his main reason for not liking the film? Too much Kung-fu...well last time I checked, that was a huge factor in why most people like the first Matrix. For the Kung-Fu and great special effects. Sounds like this film does exactly that. Harry is upset that there are no werewolves and vampires. Excuse me, but thank God. This isn't Van Hessling, The Howling, or From Dusk Till Dawn....this is The Matrix. The Matrix has always been about techno-kung-fu-philosophy, with great special effects. From Harry's review, I know that is exactly what I am going to get. I can't wait to see it in two days.

Almost every review out there has said that the first 30 minutes of the movie are boring and don't need to be there. What the other reviews haven't said is that the fight scenes are exactly the same as the ones in Matrix 1, nothing but kung fu. Matrix 2 was supposed to be big, Neo was supposed to have amazing powers, why is he fist fighting everyone when he knows that it doesn't matter if he gets punched. Why does he even bother blocking. Give it up fanboys, this is NOT going to be the best movie ever. It is NOT even going to be better then X2. It COULD have been, if they added the scenes Harry talked about... Robots attacking Xion, Neo using ANY special powers other then flying away from kung fu fights, special creatures except for these wraith guys who never talk. The movie could have been great but it's going to be average, suck it up fanboys.

that BLADE 2 had a very fucking unnecessary sword fight between Snipes and one of those perpetrators in black that swooped in on the rails. BLADE 2 was shit; nothing more than an entire rehash of the first film. Lets also not forget that Bryan Singer inexcusably fucked up the first XMEN film, but because everyone imagines that X2 is so great, they'll calmy forget about his first, shitty version. I saw X2 this weekend, and it was a good movie, but because someone lists Gambits name on a computer screen, all of a sudden it becomes great? Because you get an in-joke or an eye blink? Please. And once again, THE TWO TOWERS gets raves, yet no one notices that the story isn't even focused on Frodo anymore, but Aragorn instead. I have a feeling this movie is smarter than its audience at this point. But we all know that in six to twelve months most of the staff will consider this one great. Perhaps MATRIX RELOADED is bad, but at least these guys are taking chances and are not just going out there doing the same shit that they did with the first film. Doesn't ambition count for something? Of course it does. And for the record, KILL BILL will be better than all of these sequels as I've been saying. Just watch. It's too bad the SNL cast can't perform anything funny for the rest of the world to see. I'll read Harry's review and the rest of them once I see it on Thursday night.

...didn't pony up as much money as Sony did for the Godzilla review. Lest we forget, this is the gentleman who gave us positive reviews of not only the aforementioned Godzilla, but also of Blair Witch 2: Book of Bullshit and Star Wars - Episode 2 - Attack of the Terribly CG Robot Foundry.

but now ill just go in expecting more and know to pay attention. Also, the reason they prob toned down the fact neo can destroy code is...well that would be a short ass movie, him just destroying people left right and center. that would be cool after 15 minutes, but then your bored as hell, at least with kung fu its different moves. See the problem most seem to have with this movie is they think would it should have been or should have done, and just cant except what it has done and go with it. Dont be rigid in what you think its gonna be like, if its not what you expected, run with that. yeesh.

Most of the "fresh" reviews so far are from obscure internet sites. Of course most of these interent critics are going to like something computer based, since some of them cant get proper jobs in the print media. Well it keep a good ratio like 11 to 4 or will it get worse? Time will tell.

No worries. But yeah I see that punch stupidity. Damn - it seems no one is doing any serious continuity in many media, not just film. Not speaking for myself, but it seems like we're becoming more stupid as a society. Funny how that happens at the same time that religious charlatans like Bush are growing in influence.

when you create a 'world' you can do whatever you want, so long as you stick to the rules of your world. if not, well, your story can be defeated by it's own logic (or lack thereof). and if there are these inconsistencies in the story - if the suspension of disbelief is not maintained - then i'm not surprised that, coolness (i.e. eye candy) aside, a number of people are left wanting with regard to this instalment. and i don't think it has anything to do with 'getting it' at all. it might have something to do with the fact that the story is not yet complete, which is kind of okay (but not really 'coz a film's gotta stand on it's own and, regardless of whether it is a cliffhanger or not, at the end of it you should still feel satisfied while looking forward to some more). one of the main things i was looking forward to, like harry, is how they developed the conceits of 'the matrix' and the evolution of neo. i mean, he's mastered the matrix, what's next? it seems the answer is a little unsatisfactory.

As well versed as Harry undoubtedly is in movies, and that makes his opinion worth something even if we don't always agree with it, this review must unfortunately be unceremoniously ignored. It is the most self-indulgent subjective train-wreck of a review I have thus far read for Matrix Reloaded. Even before seeing this movie, Harry more or less revealed that he wasn't going to think much of it, and I suspect he convinced himself of this and pretty much sealed the movie's fate for himself before the opening credits even kicked in. Of course it'd be impossible to disprove what he says until the film gets released and we can judge for ourselves, but in terms of reviewing, Harry's points are far too self-indulgent. I don't care in the least what YOU expected from this, Harry. It's of no relevance to me or anyone else who happens upon your review. I'm far more interested in how it sits as a movie, and as a middle chapter. You seem to want closure in this movie - don't you get it? Don't you realise that this isn't going to bring closure but more questions? It sounds to me like you had this doomed before you went in which makes your review, I'm arfraid, worthless pap.

This (according to Harry) sounds exactly like what I've been afraid of: a movie that cannot possibly stand up to the hype. I knew it wouldn't a long time ago, but I'm still going to see it. This Movie-and-its-Sequel comparison can by made really to a few movies that I've seen. Scream and Evil Dead. The first Scream is a fucking great movie. I've loved it since the first time I saw it. Years went by and then I started seeing previews for a sequel, and I was stoked as hell. But after a while, I realized that it was going to suck, and lo and behold, it was really awful. I never even saw the third one. Granted, that doesn't really sound dramatic, but oh well. Now on to the Evil Dead comparison. Harry brings up Neo from Reloaded not being the same Neo from the original movie. Anyone who's seen Evil Dead and Evil Dead II knows for a fact that, while it's the sequel and happens immediately after the original, it's not the same Ash. It's a move for the better, but Ash from 1 and 2 are completely opposite. Or, for the Matrix, Neo just doesn't live up or remember anything he learns from the first one. It's called the Mighty Duck Syndrome, or MDS. In every one of those damn movies, those damn kids forget how to play hockey, then change completely and are the best by the end of the movie. Cue to sequel, somehow they've "forgotten" how to play. DOesn't happen. You can not practice and not be as good as you were originally, but not be as horrible as those damn kids. Oh well, that's all I've got to say.

i'll wait and see - unlike Harry, I don't develope these impossible crushes on movie promo's because I know in my mind the reality is always different. like star wars - your mind just makes it out that it's going to be orgasm after orgasm.... but the truth is, it's just a camera and a bunch or actors - joined by computer artistry. Truth is, if the screenwriter doesn't have the goods then neither will the film.

It's one thing to set standards high, it's another thing to ignore quality and QUALITIES of a film because of those standards. Just as IQ can't truly measure human intelligence outside of the abstract, sliding scales of quality on movies do no better. They ignore the innate, environmentally produced and socially learned differences between people's thoughts and emotions, and they ultimately produce an invalid measure, because people know better. Believe me, I prefer good movies to bad, elegance to choppiness, well-written scripts to ones that are written during the production, and which take a team of script doctors to write well. But I wish to enjoy these things, and not analyze them past the point of feeling anything for them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A while back, while searching for reviews for the original Matrix, I was startled at the mixed critical reaction that it got.Some thought it was juvenile, some thought it didn't go far enough on its promise. Some thought that it was brilliant pop art. And nothing else. What exactly were we expecting of this one? Wall to wall agreement? It's not going to get it. I mean, what was Harry expecting? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Until I see it, I won't know what to make of the action scenes and the storyline, but I've known something for quite a while: The Matrix Reloaded wasn't going to fall far from the tree. I figured it wasn't going to be that much of blood and gore thing. Why should it be? Blood is punctuation. The Martial arts aspect is more important. Why the Martial arts?-------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not the most dedicated student, but this is what I know: the closer you get to somebody, the more you put yourself in danger. That the agents are forced to fight hand to hand with Neo is only indicative of his talent. Guns require less interaction with a person. You can shoot a person from a mile away, and if you miss, your exposure is far less. The closer you get, however, the more you risk the other's response. In a self defense class, my teacher ably demonstrated just how difficult it is to defend against someone close up, by taking a black belt student of his and striking at him. The closer he got, the less leeway the other one had. He also taught that as one's heart rate rises, and of course, as you are hurt in the course of a fight, one's ability to fight diminishes.------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It helps to understand Anime, and to also understand the underlying mystical connotations of Kung Fu. It might be argued that instead of having some externally flamboyant show of power, which is hard to really put story values through, one might instead be done from inside outwards. Martial arts are an essential part of the Matrix worldview, and not merely a stylistic choice as it might be in a movie like Equilibrium. In martial arts, there is a crucial notion, that of energy: it is called any number of things, including terms like Ki or Chi. This energy can be mental concentration as well as physical force, but in the Kung-Fu worldview, they can be seen as one. It is a crucial part of the conclusion of the last movie that: a) Neo discovers everything around him is composed of a certain energy Which we see as the arcane cascades of symbols B) he only became the one when he focused his mind and body to the task of doing the unthinkable things he was supposed to do. He couldn't merely will things into existence, he had to merge into the flow of things, the final example of which, is Neo coming back from the dead in both the Matrix and the real world. Neo is not going to be a god in this picture, only someone who has transcended, and can transcend the world around him, when he lets himself do so. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------As for the ghouls and goblins thing, I respect the Wachowski Brothers for not coming up with another rationalized version of these horror movie creatures. Let them come up with the self replicating Smith's, and other examples of the digital undead. Why just copy what's out there, and cheapen the originality of it? Have programs that feed on emotions. Have the multi-Smiths. Have the Ghost twins, and the various others. Don't settle for copying off of somebody else. I mean, what would we have done if Ridley Scott had settled for the good old bugeyed creature instead of Giger's nasty bitch of an alien? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All in all, some of the reviews I've read seem to place more emphasis on what was expected of the movie, rather than what one could experience and glean from a movie. And that is an awful shame: that we might miss a good movie in pursuing the one we wanted to see.

Guess some people are let down by the sequels that might be too dark and meandering. Maybe Matrix Revolutions will restore faith in disappointed die-hard Matrix fans. I ain't a fan to be exact but I could see why the first movie made a big influential impact on Hollywood and general moviegoing expectation. You never know what tricks the Wachowski brothers are pulling...there's no spoon!

RT's current review record of 12-4 and average rating of 8.1 / 10 says to me that the movie's doing just fine. So quit bitching already. Just go and enjoy the damn movie for what it is. Remember, Neo is supposed to be the Messiah, not the Wachowski Brothers and not the Matrix franchise. Get some perspective and quit ruining for yourselves (and everyone else) what appears to be a perfectly respectable movie. (Better yet, write a better one yourself, if you can.)

Even if we all hate this movie, even if I think it's the stupidest thing in the world, I'll still be fine with it. The Wachowski brothers are doing what THEY want to see. I don't think they're making this movie thinking "hey, the merchandising will make us fucking rich" or "yeah, this will make people like it." They're making these movies in the mindset of "This is what we want to see, and if they don't like it, tough shit." They're not going to sellout, like Batman & Robin did, or the ever doomed Superman project (which, if it's EVER made, will be the biggest heaping pile of dogshit ever). Those are my reasons for being okay with this movie, even if I think it's lame.

Why??i hear you ask, well simply because Harry made it pretty obvious he's not a fan of the movies so therefore of course he'll give it a crappy review...this is a review coming from the same guy who LOVED AOTC i mean come on.
You have disappointed me Harry your a bitch to George Lucas...i remember you writing that sitting in a hotel watching AOTC review, you managed to make it sound astounding, then when i finally got to see it i was like this is a big wad of horse shit.
With Reloaded you've made it out to be the worst shit you've ever seen when it will probably be simply amazing!!
Oh and before this rant is over i'd just like to say X-2 got way too much praise on this site..it was no way as good as everyone made out and how did everyone seem to forget the bullshit that is X-Men that movie was one of the biggest dissapointments.
Anyways i look forward to seeing Reloaded...i'm sure i'll disagree with you harry old chap!

I can't believe anyone is surprised that this film is "...pedestrian, repetitive and boring". I don't blame people for liking the first one because it actually attempted to tell a story of huge scope while also giving us truly innovative action sequences. But besides the charm of Keanu Reeves, all of the performances were just way off for me and besides it's beautiful effects, action sequences and sets, the film was just really unengaging for me. The main problem I had with it was though was that this was a story about how the world we live in isn't real and yet it didn't spend anytime in the illusion of the false world. It pretty much jumped into the plot right away, it didn't spend time setting up this false reality only to break it all down. We didn't see Thomas's private life, we didn't have any time getting emotionally involved in the "false reality" to have it mean anything dramatically when it was all proved to be unreal. You need to give the audience a false sense of security and then unleash the fantasy to make any of it seem real and have resonance. The problems Harry seems to have with this film seem to be the problems I had with the original. It's a grand idea but it doesn't take advantage of it's ideas. It really just skims off of these established great sci-fi archetypes, puts a modern spin on them and basically turns into your average "underground resistance against the evil fascist future government" film. The sad thing is that many people now look at these films as the ultimate "false reality" movies, but that aspect of the story is really just glossed over to easily. It takes real drama and suspense to make those kind of stories believable. At least Total Recall established that it's hero had a life and dreams before it broke into the false reality, although it did it briefly, to be fair only his memories weren't real, the rest of the world was, so it didn't have to do as much work as the Matrix would have but didn't.

Now, Matrix unloaded ... From the first film we learn there have been two matrix programes. One was perfect but humans couldn't handle it, so the imperfect world matrix was created to sustain us... well from the end of the first film we're lead to believe that everything will be shut down and people will be freed. Maybe the second one should ahve dealt with people waking up and battle of the machines - but the machines win, then the third one dealt with an ALL NEW programe. Imagine the fun!!

cant you empathize at all? the end of first movie... PUTYOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THE -MATRIX- or whoever runs the matrix the overlord, WHATEVER! Do you still pump out agent smith 1.0's who can be penetrated by the neo virus and destroyed? NO you make agent 2.0's who can take that shit and fight back. Agent smith 1.0 LEARNED from neos attack. Cant you assume the matrix wouldnt adapt as well? Snyone who;s ever had a pc will tell some things stay the same. The idea NEO should just bowl over the opposition and for example bnot have to kung fu his way again is kind of lame to me. Vuirus writer sdaapt and os's and anti virus software adapts and the users of pcs as well and the ying yang of the thing has been giong on for the last 20 years Ive been building pcs... which is an apt analogy if you ask me cponsidering the matrix is just one big motherfucking computer. so neo has tro resort to more fancy kung fu again? What would the movie BE without martial arts???
no sequel has ever outdone the original in my mind... its either more of the same... but is never a completely original film... Ive always liked alien over aliens (tho in some ways aliens is better) and Ive always like sw ep4 over ep5... as good as rp5 was its just not the same kick in the pants you get fomr the original... I wish some people would keep sequel expectations a little bit less insanely high over the original flick. Ive always know no matter how good it is the 2nd movie couldnt outdo the first one... But I havent had a single bad thing to say about any clips or trailers on matrix 2... that alone to me still has huge respect for the filmakers behind the series...

Undercover brother, ATOC, Phantom Menace, Godzill, ect ect... He gives a positive review to every company that treats him nice, even if the movies are shit. So only trust the negative reviews.. Because he ususally brings some good points out about the movies in them.

Oh I told you so. All of a sudden, the Wachowski's had no idea how to come up with a coherent storyline that expands on the first. I knew it was fucked when I heard they were going to Zion in part 2. It was too early anyway and whoever crafted the concept of Zion as an underground Neo-African society should be fired. Imagine if they had shown Neo taking his time, building a rebellion within the matrix, laying low and teaching people how to access their powers. Wouldn't there be a conflict between him and religious matrix inhabitants, who proclaimed his teachings evil? Neo would be leading a cult of superheroes against the stubborn minds of other ignorant but well-meaning humans. Imagine in our world (of which the Matrix is supposed to be a simulation) if someone came along and started opening up strange powers in people (telekinesis, transportation, fire-breathing, whatever). What sorts of challenges would he face from people who want the world to stay as it is? Would all of his students want to do good with their newfound powers? Voila! Real, thinking man's conflict...plus fights involving supernatural powers, not kung fu. Then, what would happen if the teacher who just taught you how to fly wanted to bring you to the real world so you could puke blood and eat tasteless gruel on a small ship? More interesting plot devices emerge. What if people began to plug back into the matrix and work against Neo (and against the agents, too). Then what if the machines decided to use new methods of stopping the insurgency? What if they began using the matrix to invade the minds of the humans even more, and make them see freaky things. Humans can be controlled by fear, love, hunger...wouldn't it be great to watch the matrix evolve as the machines learn about the humans? What if the machines decided to change the matrix environment into something completely different, something the humans would have to fight to survive in? It needed to go darker and harder, not more stylish and camera-tricky. It needed to put its key players in real danger, not in ridiculous martial arts tourneys.
BUT NO! Instead, we get gaggles of worthless characters with crappy pop culture names; the use of viruses as a plot device; shitty pompous dialog; and fucking neo-african subterranean rave cultures that do nothing but dance and beat drums. UGH!
So help me fucking god, whose decision was it to put a rave in this movie?! I wish Hollywood would stop raping rave culture. It NEVER EVER works in movies because the actors are always too bouncy and squeaky clean and say/do things that true ravers would never say/do. Anyway...Zion, if even used in the plot at all...should have been saved until the third movie. Its design should not have included any stalagtites whatsoever. Even so, the payoff should be that Zion has always existed right under the machines' collective nose, not four million feet into the crust of the Earth (wherein temperatures would not be able to sustain human life anyway). I'm surprisingly not upset about the inclusion of vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. I am not one of these people that thinks a movie should flow just as I imagine it to. You know, the kind of people that wanted "Identity" to just remain a thriller slasher flick or show some burial ground spookies or something. I believe that vampires and werewolves could have been brought into the movie intelligently: the machines could begin dissecting human fears to probe for weaknesses, then turn the matrix into a hellish world populated by such human bugbears. I agree with Harry in this case that, if they are going to introduce it, they should follow it through. It's the same for the whole movie: if they introduce a fight with 100 agent Smiths, then have it be there for a reason. If Neo can see the matrix for what it is, he should navigate it better than he did in the first movie. Anyway, the fact remains: drama and conflict are ever the domain of human desires; not overdone CGI and cheap, awful comic book plot devices. I so wish these movies had not been filmed back-to-back. Now the Wachowski's have no time to fix part 3.

Even Harry is falling victim to the hate fest? His "Review" seems to be a cut and paste of other negative reviews. I'm starting to think when the board trolls come out o play to prey on the majority ot get their point across, Harry writes a review back reflecting the assumed majority's hatred of a movie which really isn't there. As I've said, I WILL NOT believe a review untill after the release. A review made by someone who saw the movie. Strangely enough, looking at the amount of reviews, Matrix: Reloaded is 3 and 3. Well, It looks like a review from me is due this weekend when I go to see it. If it don't get posted, I'll post it in a talk back. If not there, perhaps at some other review board. Besides, I doubt the common troll could read it.

Mr. Harry is bitter because he wasn't invited to early screening. Now he's ranting about the spoilers of the matrix reloaded as awesome in one scene and bad in theother when he hasn't seen it. He has let other people influenced him in more way sthan he could think. I think Mr. Harry needs a long vacation...
The irony is whenever he praises on some movies, they turn out to be really really sucked. Those he hates turn out to be GOOD!
So my brain is telling me that this movie is good and I can't wait forWednesday 10 pm. I'll be plugged in by then...Got 48 hours to plug into the Matrix. hehehehhe

I read on CHUD that you really need to see this movie at least 2 times to really get it.
I just can't imagine that Matrix : Reloaded is that bad. (I really don't care why Neo isnt hovering above the agents...if i were him i'd rather kick their asses)
I hope Harry is terrible wrong with Matrix Reloaded

I really wanted this film to be good. I will still see it though. As far as people who want the film (or any other film for that matter) to fail that's just sad. Oh and whoever keeps going on about the Pelennor Fields, give it a rest. Sure it will be grand and sweeping, I just hope it has more "heart" and "spirit" then the Helms Deep battle, which to me came so close to being amazing yet somehow ended up hollow. It almost teased you with something so amazing, an then pulled it away. Maybe if we got a full on R-rated cut it would just pump with the grittieness that I imagined that battle to be. Which although it was a very cool scene, left me and others in want of something more... I don't know what. If you read the books though the Pelennor Fields was what made it great, infact it was the characters. I know people who found TTT boring, (PLUS THEY HATED THE ARAGORN FAKEOUT SCENE) but they liked the characters. In the books the Return of the King has the least amount of description regarding combat it's just massive waves of soldiers and (spoiler for some) the assualt on Minas Tirith. So I hope you are right about it being an amazing spectacul. But really if you haven't seen it yet, how do you know?

..from our famously all-over-the-map host: "It should be noted that if [I] never appear again.... or simply become bait and tackle for sharks off the coast of Jurassic Park... Well then, I enjoyed my last movie... Which would be SCREAM 3."
SCREAM 3?!?!
Look, just go into the film open minded, and see for yourself if it?fs tripe or genius on display. I imagine it?fs probably somewhere in between. That said, Harry does show a curious pattern in his reviews. I got the sense in reading things on this site over the last several days that he?fd already made up his mind before ever seeing the actual film. It?fll be interesting to see what sort of high praise is reserved for Spy Kids 3, when that comes out?c.

Thought it was pretty cool...It had one of the best fight scenes I have ever seen, and one of the best car chase scenes I have ever seen and alot of moments that made me and my geek buddies squeal and hi five each other....Call me an asshole but that is all I was looking for...One more thing whoever makes a Superman movie should watch certain parts of this movie very closley..I already bought my tickets to take my 12 year old son to see it with me on saturday.

what first attracted me was the kung fu but then I got to love the story. I don't really care about the script or the acting of the characters. Aslong as I have a good time with my girlfriend on a Saturday night then I'm alright. Harry perhaps some of your questions will be answered in the game Enter The Matrix which is released on the 15th....Thumb_bandit out!

for some reason there is this arrogant tone of "well, i just saw the movie before it opens, and so here's what happens and this is why i think its bad... blah blah."
people like you are annoying. shut your trap. forever. amen.

It would seem from the early reaction from many that this film is a major let down. But it's Quint's review that alarms me most. While Harry can and has in the past been a vortex of words that tells us nothing about what we want to hear about a film, his geek credentials were never in doubt. So to hear him underwhelmed is a worry and I didn't even read the spoiler version! But to read that Quint is upset with this film and that he can write his upset in a well-construted review is very worrying indeed. All I need to read now is that Moriarty is bummed out for it too and my faith is gonna be very fragile next week when I see it.

Also give it lackluster reviews by comparison. If I'm wrong then at least they shouldn't sprinkle their comments before seeing it with hints that they aren't going to like it as much. If i've learned anything from this site (and i haven't) it's that geeks are protective of their favorite franchises, which is why people pretend the first lotr wasn't boring, hobbits arent fruity, and the first two star wars prequels aren't mediocre movies with terrible dialogue....... i don't like sand.. it's rough.... not like you..... which is why when i bury my mother i'm going to pick up a huge handful of sand.....

I've been following the development of the Enter the Matrix game for quite some time now, and every time someone pops out a press release, they say "You have to play the game to get the whole story." Regarding werewolves and vampires and such, they're apparently in the game, so the movie and game DO cross back and forth between each other. Not to mention the extra hour of footage only in the game.
Besides, it matters not what any reviewer, critic, or naysayer can squwak about, Reloaded will make millions. I got my tickets, and I'll be in my Agent Suit on Wednesday at 10:00. And no amount of negative reviews can stop me or the millions of fans. 'Nuff said.

I was at the same screening as Harry on Monday, and his review is pretty much dead-on. I wish this movie had been at least as good as the first one, and it _should_ have been better, given the set-up. Anyway, if any of you want to read my mini-review, you can find it on Robogeek.com (currently the third post on the front page).

Well Harry was wrong about Star Wars and X-men (IMO of course) so I`m hoping he`s consistent with this one... Hopefully he`s just missing the depth in the same way that he missed the lack of it in most of the blockgussets of the past year. Funnily enough this review gives me more hope for the film than I once had.

That site doesn't say shit about a movie being a hit or not.
I mean the Phantom menace got 63% while it was a huge hit!!
Oke it sucked but that is a whole other story.
I think this movie will be cool. I'm not creating all this expectations for my self. I'm just going on friday and see it in a great theather and then i will judge it for myself.
As far as i see it it will be a rollercoaster ride.

hold on I liked reloaded, everyone i know liked it, HARRY liked it. what he and most people are saying is it simply isn't that good. it isn't as good a sequel as you would hope for, (even without all the hype), in fact it's a pretty old fashioned sequel. more money on the screen, more fights more explosions, more action, LESS imagination. I will be seeing it again, and just like the ending for back to the future 2, (no worse much worse damn it!) i can't wait until november for the end, buut please don't use harry to convince yourselves the reviews you've read aren't true. they are.

I have known deep down for a long time that the Matrix Reloaded wouldn't live up to it's expectations and would no longer become effective. I think it is partly due to us the audience. We have watched the first Matrix so many times (for me its 20 times) and We've played those trailers over and over again and have stood waiting mouths watering for any Matrix sequel news. Now we have become immune to bullet time and the whole aura of the Matrix. It is a shame really. I don't think we should take the films too seriously like some people on this website. It's a film. I love kung fu so i'll enjoy it. I wont be bothered about how Matrix Gaye's daughter acts or the script. Film is about escapism and giving us the ability to relax and have a good time. Film ceases becoming film when we deconstruct it and look too deep into the medium.Does anyone agree with me? On the other hand all this negativity may do us all a favour. For us british when we walk into the cinema on the 23rd we may be expecting a total shit rehash of the original and come out saying "hey that was actually quite good you wanna go again?!" It would be interesting to hear other peoples view on this.

When you go and see the movie, don't go in expecting too much. Don't go in expecting the fantastic ride of your life. Don't go in expecting the greatest movie of all time. Try and forget every single spoiler you have heard or read and dont go gettin excited saying to yourself "2 days till the best movie in the entire fucking world comes out!" don't think about until u step foot into that theatre. Relax and enjoy. Smile and don't go in there ready to pick out all the cheezy dodgy bits and try not to think about they're acting and go hmmm" Neos angry face isn't quite right". I did this with Xmen2 and i seemed to enjoy it much more. All day i just kept myself busy not thinking about it. Forget everything my brother told me and sat back and enjoyed it. I became totally engrossed in it.

The Kung Fu in these films exists because the directors are big Hong Kong action film fans. That's it. (Same with the Blade films--all vampires know martial arts???) When you think about it it doesn't make any sense. ESPECIALLY after the first one,
since Neo can re-write the Matrix-- oh wait, now he can't! Give me Dark City any day.

Just had a sneak preview moday night and most of the crowd was pretty disapointed. There was potential, but no delivery. People were snoring away, I saw one group get up and leave and a lot of us were laughing when Larry Fishburne gave his Zion speach. The visuals, were so amazing, graphically, we are in such a wonderfull time of cinema, however, bells and whistles make a good movie not. The fighting was boring and went on about 80% too long. I think the one thing that was missing, and you all are gonna laugh, but there were no moments in the film where you went, "Whoa." In the first movie, it was all about stuff we hadn't seen before, and that's what I wanted from this movie. Unfortunately, I was left empty handed. Even the music, something that made the first film that much more special, was just too common and banal. It gave no real emotional connection. Maybe it's my fault for having the high expectations, but Matrix Reloaded was more like a crash.

It's a bitch that people can't even wait to unload on a movie until it's released. Not everybody liked the first films. But because it's a sequel, and because it has a rather intense following now, people are somehow supposing that the film should please everyone. Fat Chance. Empire Strikes back didn't please everyone. Neither did Return of the Jedi, which now people have lumped in as "classic" with the other two movies, despite having scorched it's ass in the forum before Episode 1. I don't know what kind of movie Reloaded will be for me, and I won't try and figure it out ahead of time. But you know something, I don't have to worry about what freaking film is the best in the world. I can go to X2, Hulk, and Matrix, and all these others, without trying to stuff my opinion of the movies down somebody elses throat. And I can enjoy them all, because I'm not going in their with expectations that it's all going to suck. I can go in there, open to where the movie will take me. If the movie fails to take me anywhere, well, then , guess what: that's when I call it a bad movie. But to make that call, I have to see the movie, and if I don't think it's worth seeing, I simply am not going to get involved. I'm not going to see Daddy Day Care for example. It isn't necessarily a bad movie, I just don't think it's worth my money just yet. But you won't here me bitching about it all day. I let it alone. Too many times, I've made prejudgments, only to have to eat my words later.

...Harry brings up a good point. Neo was established as basically a fucking GOD at the end of the first Matrix. It's like, "Here comes an Agent." "BZZZZT-boom!" That simple.
In my mind, there really isn't a NEED for a sequel, much less a trilogy, unless you did them in the real world, which is what Silver has planned. It's the only plausible way.

Some people equate watching the Matrix to having Monica Belucci felate your dong while Rachel Weisz sits on your face and Rebecca Romijn Stamos waits by naked for her turn. It is just a movie, not a dick exploding experience.
So you must treat it as such. The way I see it is I will be watching a summer flick that has cool explosions and some fun special effects. That way, I know I will be happy. I don't go in expecting the best ever. I very rarely do that. Besides, it isn't shocking because underneath the slick visuals of the original film, the story is just an average comic book tale filled with plot holes.
I will see a kick ass summer flick and not some life changing event that is larger than film. That way, I can't go wrong.
Fart Master Flex Out!

Judging from the other reviews i've read Harry's seems to fit in with most peoples opinions... but we'll see.
People need to calm down over X2 though, the first half WAS great, but the second half of the film was pretty dire - particularly the 'lets throw in the whole Jean Grey/Phoenix storyline in about 30 seconds flat' idea.

Star Wars is so much better than the Matrix on such an absract level that it would actually be impossible for the Matrix to better it. Why? Because George Lucas would never do the Matrix. George Lucas is better that the "W. Bros" and Peter Jackson combined. Why because he did Star Wars...the greatest hackneyed piece of amaturish TV serial-cum extravaganza brilliance aver conceived. And then he did it again with 'Empire' and then from there it really doesn't matter because everything he breaths or farts for the rest of his life is on a mantle that no one can touch. If you don't 'get' why the Prequels seem infantile then you are just a visitor. There will be students studying the entire Star Wars idea for generations to come. You see mastery is like that: there are the Greats in an art form and there's everybody else. Peter Jackson doesn't have it because he's a nerd who is adapting a book that was written by somebody else and we all know how the story ends; the Matrix is a too-cool hyperactive extreme video game movie that's cornball and belongs with Nine Inch Nails videos and Red Bull and Dark City and the Thirteenth Floor and Tron. That's it. Star Wars is still unfolding, it's being done by geniuses and wizards who work in a vacuum becasue they know listening to your jaded generation is pure poison. They do it so your kids will all watch it and buy it's toys and spout quotes which they simply won't do this for the Lord of the Rings or Neo (ooh! Neo--what a stupid frickin Sci-Fi channel name that is). YOU DISMISS STAR WARS BECAUSE IT ISN'T YOURS!! I understand. Gen-Yers. Where are your Scorcese's; your Lynch's; your Kubricks; and your Lucas'? You don't have any Masters, any movements, any visionaries, Any bedtime stories or life-changing pop culture moments. You don't have the 70s and the 80s to remember. No Tony Maneros, Jon Cusacks or Terminators or Mad Max's. You don't have anything except the latest cock-rock skateboard culture po-mo CRRRAP with no shelf life. Lord of the Rings was a baby boomer book for cryin' out loud! And most people hated it! I feel sorry for you. Yecch!

I just haven't been looking forward to this film as much as many others are. The first was all about a cool (though not original) concept and breathtaking special effects. The characters were basically throw-aways, and I couldn't care less about them. Certainly not enough to warrant two sequels about their further adventures. "The Matrix" should've been the end. I'm sure RELOADED will make a bundle, though, but we'll see what happens with REVOLUTIONS...

Harry was meh on A.I. but I loved it. Harry totally didn't get the point of BLACK HAWK DOWN, but I think it's one of the best films of that year. Harry loved, LOVED Blade II. I thought it was meh. Harry was iffy on Minority Report, but I thought it was brilliant. Then Harry thought Daredevil was just amazing, I thought it was shit. And don't even get me started on Lord of the fucking Rings. Harry thinks that movie is the cinematic equivalent of Mata Hari coming back to life in her twenty year old prime and blowing him right there in the theater while feeding him nachos. I think it's...homework. I just can't get worked up for it at all. And I think a little of why the bigwigs on this site are so down on the Matrix is just a little of what the Star Wars fans are always accused of: jealousy that something else is getting liked MORE. So c'est la vie, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have a blast at the theaters this weekend, much more so than I did at any of the movies Harry gushes over to no end.

Okay, having read a good portion of Harry's and Quint's reviews, as well as traipsing over to rotten tomatoes for the scoop there, I think someone needs to do a little bit o' damage control here....because there's a few points that I'm seeing several reviewers misjudge. I apologize in advance for having to be long winded, but I need to get this out....First off...I'm hearing from most of the negative reviews that the Zion scenes have problems out the ass....now, I've actually seen bits and pieces of these scenes online, so I think I can at least put these things into persective....the look of Zion...yup, it's mostly people in burlap sacks running around an earthworm tunnel....and yes, it sucks. And guess what? It's supposed to. Let's see...the ENTIRE surface world gets bombed all to shit, coupled with a sun that will never shine again, and the survivors have to root down several miles beneath the earth's crust. And we expect this human gopher hole to have Martha Stewart doing the interiors? The same goes for the ships....they're dark, grungy, abstract, and are just good enough to be functional. Couple that with the fact that, at this point, I'd wager that using technology any more than what's needed to fight the war is frowned upon. The human race, I think, is now back to the primitive....back to a more biblical style of life...which puts the actions and words of Morpheus ashe speaks to his people in a much better light, I think, another zealot, putting his trust in gods the people have never met. And even if its true that the "Zion Gone Wild" rave/orgy scene comes off more dumb than hot, I think that the point of what the Wachowskis were trying to do should come out. It should come down to humanity's ability to experience pleasure.....Second...the question of "why the hell Neo doesn't put his powers to ue the way we saw him do it in the first one"....to be fair, I think the Wachowskis did kinda aim the darts right at their own asses with this.....you dont just make a guy a potential god one minute, then expect the audience to not believe that Neo should be disintegrating motherfuckers left and right....however, in its own, subtle way, I think Neo is keeping his promise in his own way. He flies, in public, no less.....he toys with bullets....he fights like hell....but, the question's till "why isnt there more?"....and I answer: its because Neo's human too. It's a two pronged argument....for one, again, think of the brothers' biblical influences. this is not God who's dressed in black and sunglasses here.....this is, as Choi put it, the Matrix's personal Jesus Christ. Think of the human mind and how it operates....if an ordinary run of the mill working-class, barely graduated college human saw a being beyond human comprehension such as God, doing godlike things to the people and environment around them, do you think they'd look God straight in the eye, and ask questions? Or would they lose all bowel control and have a mental breakdown? However, if that same person saw Jesus Christ, turning water into wine, multiplying fish and bread, and walkin on water, would their reaction be the same, knowing that it's really one of their own? This is the philosophy that went into Neo, i believe. Neo is still a human, and if minds are to be freed--not just the people dissatisfied with reality, who already know something's wrong, but the fat corporate slob from the 125th floor i mentioned in anothe TB--the they need to see Jesus Christ...not God. However, the things that happen away from prying eyes, the Burly Brawl in particlar, I'm going to chalk that up to Neo arrogance...technically, Neo never did get the chance to truly enjoy his newfound power....he was thrust into battle right after he met with the Oracle...but now that he knows he's not going to be beaten, why not stick around, have some fun, play around with reality? I mean, gamers, think about a game like, say, Goldeneye or Doom....when you turn on cheat codes and walk into one of those stages where there's just an infinite number of enemies, and none of the fuckers can kill you....yeah, you'll use the BFG 9000 a couple of times, just for the sake of seeing 300 demons melt into bloody demon Jello before your eyes, but no one can tell me that at some point you dont switch to your most fun weapon (the shot or the chaingun in Doom, the Moonraker Laser in Goldeneye) and just run around watching heads explode for an hour. Anyways...I'm aleady running long, so I'll make one last point, and make a long story shot (too late :p ).....at rotten toatoes, there are 18 reviews, out of which only four are negative...and out of those four, only ONE is COMPLETELY down on the movie (the New Yorker, which is known for snotty reviews in the first place)...the other three still acknowledge that theres still plenty to love.....I believe that with minds open, expectations reasonable, and with a loose disposition, this movie's still going to be a great ride. Not Godlike, not Christ-like....but probably a very high apostle in the pantheon of cool sci-fi flicks....for the less tolerant, though, theres still a saying, especially among the let-down-by-the-prequels Star Wars fans....goes something like "Bad Star Wars is still better than your average movie"....when the highest grossing flick up until May 2nd was Bringing Down the House, I think that mantra should help your enjoyment of this plenty. Revolution is my name.

I think it's because Warner Brothers refuses to buy ad space on Harry's banners and because they don't have an open door policy for cyber-geeks who review movies. It was easy to predict a bad review for Reloaded, just look at what's on the banners: "The Real Cancun" Now THERE'S a great movie, right Harry? You also did quite a song and dance about what a great film "Jason X" was when its banners adorned your site. Maybe you should have an animation in the corner casting you as Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman. It would serve to both satisfy your obsession with being a woman and demonstrate how much of a Hollywood Whore you really are. Granted, I didn't think the movie was "tits" but it sure as hell is a lot better than what you make it out to be. Oh and by the way, I don't recall hearing anything at the end of the film about Zion being destroyed. I heard about a fleet of those hovercraft trying to pull off a premptive strike against the machines at some point being destroyed. But they didn't say Zion was gone. Anyway, Harry is WAY off on a film that hasn't paid him for advertising. What else is new?

Computer nerd with boring job becomes kung fu ass-kicking superhero. Given the general audience of this site, it's no wonder the first film was deified. Frankly, I found the story to be passable, the performances perfectly melodramatic and the photography fucking excellent. That's the appeal for me. Hype as been able to help box office, but never been able to help ease expectations. I remember when 'summer movie' meant more than just big explosions and wooden characters - why is that such an excuse now? Oh yeah, because with hundreds of millions of dollars invested - you can't afford to be brave.

Other than Trinity's opening fight, the original Matrix was pretty slow and talky until it got going. But it was uber-cool and I loved it to bits. I saw it seven times in the cinema - towards the end making trips out to Leicester Square to catch it in its overpriced goodness as the local cinemas had stopped playing it. I will certainly see this one, but the good news is that my expectations are now tempered. It will not be the Second Coming. That's fine. I knew that was going to be in December anyway. It will just be A Really Good Movie. And that'll do - after all, that's what the first one was.

...this "Neo is God" thing has really got to stop. He's a fucking HACKER! They recruited him because he can do creative stuff with code. Once he sees the Matrix as code, he can manipulate the code more effectively. The Agents say it best "He is still only human." If you throw volumes of code at him really fast, there's only so much of it he can parse and hack. He falls back on the martial arts training in the fight scenes because that's what his human mind can firmly grasp. What it boils down to is that he's a great martial artist who can hack just enough code in the middle or a Matrix fight to give himself the advantage by performing tricks that only the programs could accomplish before. In the first Matrix he jumps into agent Smith and blows him up. That's because he's just standing in a hallway with nobody moving or attacking him. The agents just stand there in shock after the bullets fall to the floor and Neo is allowed to do his "hacker thing" to the ultimate degree and even THAT we come to find out wasn't enough to actually destroy a Program that was within the Matrix. Besides, rule number one in writing is that an all-powerful protagonist is neither sympathetic nor engaging. What would you prefer watching for two hours on a big screen: giant fight scenes or a guy standing there, doing nothing while people around him explode? As for the thing about vampires and werewolves; fanboys would be tearing their hair out if the action in any Matrix film devolved into a vampire flick. We

This is great! All we need is a couple of Fascists yelling at FETT's ranting about how we should plant coca plants in Iraq to save the economy and we will be straight! Oh, and about the Matrix, cool movie but NOT that great. This movie made it perfect for closet geeks to leave the confines of their houses without being labeled uncool by their peers. I'll watch it and most likely enjoy it but I have to agree that it is not 'awesome' as some people tend to describe it. Fett, take over and shoot yourself in the foot by saying that the Phantom Menace was the greatest piece of film of all time...

It was faithfull to the comic. It had great perfomances. Duncan and Garner were great. Affleck was the weakest in the cast, but he wasn't bad. The film was well recieved by audiences and critics. Roger Ebert called it the best Superhero movie ever (or something to those effects). Bottom Line: It was a GOOD movie. Still, People on here rag on it. It's strange. Nothing satisfies the Aint it Cool Talkbackers.

I didn't want to read this whole review, as I'm trying to keep myself mostly in the dark about this one 'til I see it. I do have to say that all the comparisons to X2 are a little off. The first Matrix was a far better film than the first X-Men, and didn't have nearly as far to go to avoid disappointment from fans. I remember the first time I saw the Matrix, I sat in the theater watching, just waiting for them to screw up, as I'd become so used to big budget sci-fi/fantasy/adventure films doing, being all flash and no substance. But it didn't happen, I didn't start groaning, I didn't start shaking my head, and I walked away fairly impressed. Then on my second viewsings, I fell in love with it. Not because it was so jaw droppingly original or expanded me mentally, but because like the original Star Wars, it an was example of near perfect story crafting that I could just immerse myself in and be taken away by for a couple of hours. I remember seeing X-Men, and I knew from the six months or so in my life that I had collected comic books, that this was gonna be an incredibly difficult movie to pull off. I was again impressed that they managed to pull it off, but on repeat viewings, it still looked like they had just pulled it off, but hadn't made anything special. X-2 is what the first Matrix was, a near perfectly crafted story, and because its predecessor had so many shortcomings, it stands out that much more. The Matrix on the other hand, will have the same expectations attached that X-3 most likely will, and I doubt the reactions will be any different when that one comes out.
In any case, especially with some of the negative reviews coming in, I'm gonna see Matrix Reloaded in probably the same mode that I saw the first one, just waiting to see if they screw it up. I've already heard that it's the second viewing when you fall in love with this one, and as that's what happened with me last time to begin with, I'm still holding out hope that lightning will strike twice.

Harry, you've been hoist on your own petard! It hardly seems fair of you to berate Reloaded for the same faults many of us find in you! If the movie is what you say it is, it's every bit as overexcited and distracted as any one of your reviews. If it veers from relevance or payoff on an idea, then it can't outdo some of your encomia that start out by likening a director's method to eating pussy. Considering your breathless praise for the fightin' and kickin' in "Kill Bill," you don't have a leg to stand on to chastize Reloaded for same. Face it: the Wachowskis outgeeked you at your own game: they ignored grown-up ideas of story sense and entertainment to dwell onanistically on what they thought was "cool." You haven't got a complaint coming, especially since you no doubt didn't even buy a ticket!

I like the whole "Hacker" explanation as to why Neo is AWESOME in the Matrix ... but not perfect. I forsee my cousin and brother asking the whole "I thought he was a God" question when we watch it ... I'm going to use that explanation to put things in perspective! AFLAC!!!

Every time I read a review by Harry, good or bad, I just have to remember one horrid thing: "Meesa loves Him!!!"....and that pretty much sucks all the credibility out of any opinion he may have. I hope this thing blows me away, but if it doesn't, well, at least I don't love Jar Jar OR Clones.

Gee, that must make you cool, and not a "nerd" like the rest of us. Because Star Wars fans aren't nerds or anything. And Star Wars isn't childish, like the Matrix. Jar Jar...not childish. Ewoks...not childish. I've been following your posts for a while and find you to be intolerable. Now I find you to also be a hypocrite and a fool. YOU ARE JUST AS BIG OF A NERD AS ANYONE ELSE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!! Get over it. I hope you are just a sad troll looking for attention by flame baiting, if not, you are the most pathetic loser I have ever encountered here. AND THAT IS NO SMALL FEAT! You are more than entitled to love Star Wars or any other franchise you want to...I don't care. but if you think that SW is any less dumb than any other Sci Fi/fantasy films, WAKE UP!! THEY ARE ALL DUMB....SO WHAT? I happen to enjoy dumb entertainment...so fucking sue me.

Gee, that must make you cool, and not a "nerd" like the rest of us. Because Star Wars fans aren't nerds or anything. And Star Wars isn't childish, like the Matrix. Jar Jar...not childish. Ewoks...not childish. I've been following your posts for a while and find you to be intolerable. Now I find you to also be a hypocrite and a fool. YOU ARE JUST AS BIG OF A NERD AS ANYONE ELSE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!! Get over it. I hope you are just a sad troll looking for attention by flame baiting, if not, you are the most pathetic loser I have ever encountered here. AND THAT IS NO SMALL FEAT! You are more than entitled to love Star Wars or any other franchise you want to...I don't care. but if you think that SW is any less dumb than any other Sci Fi/fantasy films, WAKE UP!! THEY ARE ALL DUMB....SO WHAT? I happen to enjoy dumb entertainment...so fucking sue me.

Actually, if I were stupid and had it my way, the Wachowskis WOULD be detained and labeled terrorists. But I'm not. Doing that would only lend credence to their otherwise meaningless "political" posturing, and I'm mature enough to know that they have no REAL power unless people like me give it to them by overreacting to their childish, uninformed inuendos (i.e., lumping G.W. in with Hitler as the most evil people mankind has ever seen). Oh, and I haven't really decided whether or not to see Matrix: Reloaded. I loved the first film, but haven't been very excited by what I've seen so far (even before knowing about the Bush thing). Frankly, I'm tired of seeing so-called heros dress in black leather and spout Bhuddist double-talk.

My wishes have come true! Fascists bashing Fett, Fett helplessly fighting back and the rest going off into deep explanations about the Matrix. Pleeeaaaase keep writting! You make my boring day go faster in the office! By the way Bush is not an evil person but some of his logic is absolutely fucking insane! One thing is for sure, stand by what you believe in without intervening in other people's lives and read how Fett digs himself into a deeper hole!

At least go watch the fucking movie yourself so you know what you're talking about. The moment in question happens in a room lined with monitors. As a conversation goes on, various things flash on the screens. We see everything from starving children to Neo's childhood to clips from the first movie, complete with slo-mo shots. We see iconic figures: Hitler, Bush, et cetera. To infer that they are equating one to another is a personal judgment. You can just as easily say that they were showing opposites; The ultimate evil dictator and the ultimate enemy of evil and terrorism. I see this suggestion by Harry that the directors are somehow intending to insult the president of this country with their movie as just another pathetic attempt to attack Warner Brothers. Let's face it, Harry is mad as heck about all the Superman nonsense and he's going to do everything he can to shit on Reloaded so that his beloved X2 will keep the box office title for another week or two. All I can say is any dildo stupid enough to avoid Reloaded because of a supposed political statement in the final ten minutes of the flick, should be ass-raped by Tammy Faye Baker with a Ron Jeremy strap-on. There. Now I've put it in terms the reviewers of this site are comfortable with.

you guys are just pulling out every trick in the book to try and attack the validity of Harry's unenthusiastic matrix review. One person said its because WB doesnt buy ad space, because harry gave The Real Cancun a good review. Well this person is now the greatest moron ever. Had he read even the title to harry's cancun review, they would see that he DIDNT like that movie whatsoever. Some cite that this is yet another attack in harry's war against the WB, well, thats bonk, because he loved the first matrix at the height of his anti WB glory (a year after they blamed him for the failure of Batman and Robin) Other people are saying stuff like GET A LIFE, as if it is the lack of this man's social life that makes him not like the movie. I mean hello, we are verbally bashing someone over their own opinion of a movie. WHo is to say we have a life? I would dare say 90 percent of the people who visit this website do not have a life. Take me for instance, I speant my afternoon after work playing pac man and galaga on my game cube, then I watched the matrix to "prepare" myself for the sequel. Who the hell watches a movie to "prepare" for another movie? Us damn it, people with no lives, and honestly, I would have it no other way. I am a geek, a dork, and I would be a nerd too, if I felt smart enough, but I dont. Harry gave his opinion on this film, and after having just watched the first film myself, it makes no sense that Neo would spend any time at all fighting anyone if he could block a menacing computer program's super speed punches with one hand, then enter his body and cause him to explode. Now, I am going to take the ultimate leap here, to demonstrate my no life-ness by saying what I would have done with this movie. Taking the last scenes of the first film into account, I would make neo a zealot. He would have more power than he knew what to do with. So much power, that he is tempted to rule the matrix and all of humanity himself. I would make this an empire strikes back, where not only would Neo confront the evil from without, but also the evils growing within. I would leave morpheus and trinity being neo's only supporters against the human resistance who really just want to unplug his ass the next time he enters the matrix, while secretly thinking that that might not really be a terrible idea. Thats what I would have done, but hey whatever. I am going to see the movie tomorrow at 10pm (what a weird time for a early sneak preview, because it is going to cut into the openings draw).

hello all. like many of you i am anxiously awaiting hoping i am not dissapointed the way i am going to every big anticipated movie. however i notice something pecular about the tone of people here, negativity. why is it so many people seem "disgusted" by this sequel? for me the matrix was a revolutionary film because of what they did on screen. the effects were mind blowing and judging from the previews i have seen, it looks like they have raised the bar from the original. we sportsfans have a term that describes the recent negativity, bandwagon fans, on one minute, off the next. so i reserve judgement until ive seen the film. much like many things it probably won't live up to expectations, however it will not suck either.

Any filmmakers who have the fucking balls to compare Bush to Hitler rock in my book. Hell, Prescott Bush was busted for trading with the Nazis under the Trading with the Enemy Act during WWII. If Bush acts like a Nazi, talks like a Nazi, and his family had financial dealings with them, then we might as well face up to the truth -- Bush IS a Nazi. That's what cinema should be as an art form -- a bold and daring shot of truth to the masses.

I really don't know what you are exactly trying to say. Neo hangs up the phone and flies away to show us a world beyond the Matrix. Ok, and you think that meant that he is going to free everyones mind into gravity defying routines and show everyone the path? If you were thinking that then why did you ever want there to be a sequel? That isn't sequel material - Neo can't teach everyone else his ways and do what he does - there is no story there at all. I guess I was lead to a very different conclusion and just believed that Neo was going to fight the Matrix on his own that would eventually lead to the outcome of showing people the real world. After all, he is The One. The One that can see through the Matrix and see it for what it really is. The One that can believe in himself. The One that can't teach others how to be The One because then it would be The Two, The Three, etc. Perhaps everyone jumped to a different conclusion, as it is a very open ending, but in that case please do not preach to us how we were supposed to envision the ending of the first movie when we all could of had very different ideas in our mind as to what would happen next. As for the sequel itself, I have yet to see it so I didn't read the second part of your review to stay away from spoilers. Thankfully with yours and Garth's review on Dark Horizons my expectations have been lowered a bit so I am likely to enjoy it a lot more if I had gone in believing it'd be the greatest film out there (perhaps my expectations will just go back to Return of the King in the next week, we'll see). For that alone, I thank you for your opinion and your review. But hey, I for one am pretty psyched to see a bunch of kung fu ass kicking and philosophical questions surrounding the Matrix. The first 45 minutes are pointless? Well the Wachoski brothers are pretty descent story tellers and they had a lot of characters to introduce - that might be hard to judge until you see the third film. I guess we might just have to wait and see. A long 17-minute freeway chase that actually gets boring? Well hey, I'm usually the kind of person that bitches about action scenes being too short. The big shootout in the first film? TOO SHORT! Helm's Deep in The Two Towers? TOO SHORT! 17-minutes, that sounds NICE! But anyway, that's my two cents - who knows, I might be whistling a different tune when I see it on Thursday. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

This review from a man who LOVED Godzilla? I'll have to wait and see the movie for myself, but sheeeesh!
Oh yeah, Harry. Where's your review for CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!!! U complain for years that Spielberg hasn't had a working class hero as a protagonist in his movies. He finally has one in his and you DON'T REVIEW the movie! Unless, I'm mistaken, you've never reviewed CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. Well?
I came across this review of "The Matrix Reloaded." Pretty interesting. Here's the link:
http://www.nypress.com/16/20/film/film2.cfm
Whaddaya think?
L8er,
Auda Abu Tayi

Here's a quote from the great head himself, John Malkovich, as if he entered a portal into Harry's brain and spoke defending the Wachowskis.
"Go and look at the film. Don't talk to me, don't listen to what I say, look at the film. Don't come in here and tell me the same thing you already thought, don't tell me what you hoped to have seen, or hoped you would be offended by and were, because then I know you're not very bright. And not because you don't like the film. You can like it or hate it

Ok..short and simple..Any movie beats Lizzie McGuire..So stop complaining because of some little detail like "It didn't focus enough of the fact that I'm a complete nerd and have nothing better to do then complain about stupid shit" Get a life and enjoy a movie with a bunch of kick ass scenes and a little bit of sexuality ;-). Ok well don't agree? Fight with me I'm on AIM and my screen names KwisWiwy..ROUND 1 GOOO!

I didn't like the first matrix because of the same thing, and Keanu just looked goofy doing kung fu. Keanu is jumping across buildings and doing neat junk, but as soon as agent smith shows up all the characters run away. I don't mean they just took off they actually ran down the hall to get away. What's up with that if it wasn't really real couldn't they just blink and be somewhere else? or right next to the phone to get away? They never did any of this which is what I would have done. And if they are raised by robots do they really nead the whole body? Wouldn't they just be messed up so when they did escape from little battery pods or whatever those were they couldn't get away because no muscle would have been developed it would be like a grown man learning to walk. That would be pretty easy to catch. Actually I ended up liking Dark City better than this one. They seemed pretty close to the same thing. Maybe, I don't know what I'm talking about because i did sleep through about an hour of the first one and never had an urge to see what i missed. However, the animatrix that i download was pretty sweet. I could watch a series about the whole start of the robot/human war. That was more interesting than keanu plodding around. Yeah, and wouldn't an electormagnetic pulse generator stop all of their hearts anyway?

May 13, 2003, 6:38 p.m. CST

by carolignian

If you want to know about the Bush-Nazi connection, search google for:
vesting order 248 federal register 1942
This is the order siezing Union Bank's (Prescott Bush's) assets because of their dealing with the Thyssen family who were Nazi industrialists.
If you want credidibility, this shows up in the National Archives web site as a recently declassified document, but it looks like it was recently 'orwelled' from there -- though it still shows up in the google cache. Better hurry before they correct this glitch in the matrix.

Two words: Matrix: REVOLUTIONS. We wished for the Matrix Trilogy to be like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, meaning that the first part would be a breath-taking, mind-blowing origin story, the second part a kick-ass, balls-to-the-wall war movie, and the third part an absolute apotheosis. But unfortunately, it seems that it is more similar to the Return to the Future Trilogy, meaning that the first part would still remain a mind-blowing origin story, but the second part would be nothing more than a segway, a transition leading up to the (hopefully) awesome third part of the (somewhat-less-than-epic) saga. That's what Reloaded seems to be so far, merely a template preparing us for Revolutions. But their NOT showing us the final stand of humanity and the definitive fall of Zion is absolutely unforgivable. Cheap bastards. Then again, maybe Revolutions will begin with a "first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan" type of opening, showing us the ultimate battle between man and machine. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

Two words: Matrix: REVOLUTIONS. We wished for the Matrix Trilogy to be like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, meaning that the first part would be a breath-taking, mind-blowing origin story, the second part a kick-ass, balls-to-the-wall war movie, and the third part an absolute apotheosis. But unfortunately, it seems that it is more similar to the Return to the Future Trilogy, meaning that the first part would still remain a mind-blowing origin story, but the second part would be nothing more than a segway, a transition leading up to the (hopefully) awesome third part of the (somewhat-less-than-epic) saga. That's what Reloaded seems to be so far, merely a template preparing us for Revolutions. But their NOT showing us the final stand of humanity and the definitive fall of Zion is absolutely unforgivable. Cheap bastards. Then again, maybe Revolutions will begin with a "first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan" type of opening, showing us the ultimate battle between man and machine. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

Two words: Matrix: REVOLUTIONS. We wished for the Matrix Trilogy to be like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, meaning that the first part would be a breath-taking, mind-blowing origin story, the second part a kick-ass, balls-to-the-wall war movie, and the third part an absolute apotheosis. But unfortunately, it seems that it is more similar to the Return to the Future Trilogy, meaning that the first part would still remain a mind-blowing origin story, but the second part would be nothing more than a segway, a transition leading up to the (hopefully) awesome third part of the (somewhat-less-than-epic) saga. That's what Reloaded seems to be so far, merely a template preparing us for Revolutions. But their NOT showing us the final stand of humanity and the definitive fall of Zion is absolutely unforgivable. Cheap bastards. Then again, maybe Revolutions will begin with a "first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan" type of opening, showing us the ultimate battle between man and machine. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

Two words: Matrix: REVOLUTIONS. We wished for the Matrix Trilogy to be like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, meaning that the first part would be a breath-taking, mind-blowing origin story, the second part a kick-ass, balls-to-the-wall war movie, and the third part an absolute apotheosis. But unfortunately, it seems that it is more similar to the Return to the Future Trilogy, meaning that the first part would still remain a mind-blowing origin story, but the second part would be nothing more than a segway, a transition leading up to the (hopefully) awesome third part of the (somewhat-less-than-epic) saga. That's what Reloaded seems to be so far, merely a template preparing us for Revolutions. But their NOT showing us the final stand of humanity and the definitive fall of Zion is absolutely unforgivable. Cheap bastards. Then again, maybe Revolutions will begin with a "first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan" type of opening, showing us the ultimate battle between man and machine. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

Man, everybody who's doubting it needs to relax. Geesh, like many have brought up, Harry can't see beyond the crap of Star Wars. He doesn't realize that all George Lucas wants is more money, while The WB's (the directors, not the actual company) have a true artistic vision. That's why they don't do interviews. They want their work to speak for itself. They did write all 3 scripts at the same time, by the way. But I guess that some stuff changed since Tank was replaced with Link. I've never expected the sequel to begin at the end of the phone conversation between the machines and Neo. It's obvious that what Neo said would take some time to do. He may be more like Superman, but I also wasn't expecting him to be God like some were thinking. For how I will probably rank the top 3 movie trilogys, I'd say Lord of the Rings will be the best, The Matrix will be good, and Star Wars will always suck (newer films, for nothing touches the classic originals!). That's okay with me. The Matrix doesn't have to be the best movie trilogy, but that doesn't mean it can't also be a damn good one as well!

Hitler was more evil, but being that Preston Bush, (Bush's Grandfather made his money doing business with the Nazis, ignoring a connection is idiotic. George W. is self-serving, conservative ignoramus, and an enemy of free-thinkers. How sad for anyone who believes he is a good man. Matrix Reloaded will be a good movie, and that is all I ask!

The experience of seeing THE MATRIX RELOADED won't be wholly fulfilling, apparently. As I understand it, the game fills in plenty of info involving Niobe, Ghost, Persephone, Merovingian, the Keymaker, and even those pesky vampires (who look an awful lot like Marilyn Manson, sadly enough) and such. It's pretty shitty for filmmakers to expect people to buy a game to fill in blanks in their movie, but I guess that is the ultimate cop-out for this movie. I guess if it doesn't live up to expectations, get ahold of the game and play it. If you still believe the movie sucks after playing the game and watching the movie again, then perhaps, it's just not your cup o' tea. And has been stated before, it's just a movie. Maybe it will look better in retrospect, once we've all seen THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS. Once again, that's also a cop-out, but perhaps it's somewhat true...

Pathetic. Like crackheads. You keep looking for the same high, and bitch when the tolerance gets lower and lower. I CANT FUCKING BELIEVE the amount of bitching people are making about the films they've been dreaming, writing, smoking, talking, WAITING for forever. The Wachowski's defied Hollywood, they FUCKING GOT AWAY WITH IT. Making one of the most groundbreaking damn films ever. And now they're giving you the rest of the story, you want to whine and grumble because it isn't what you expected. FINE. YOU fucking make three movies that goddamn GOOD, that goddamn SMART, that goddamn STYLISH, that goddamn AMBITIOUS. Fucking whiners. Do it so that I can write avbout it and bitch about it. NO ONE even CONSIDERS the fact that the THREE films were CONCEIVED as a WHOLE BEFORE they shot the FIRST fuckin movie. So until the last FRAME of REVOLUTIONS I suggest you shut the fuck up. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, No one even gives the boys credit having the sheer BALLS to split the two in the middle. You're not watching PART 2 and 3. You're watching the first HALF of part 2!! Imagine if the First Matrix ended halfway through?! You'd be like WHAT THE FUCK. You'd bitch> YOU'd moan, and feel like something is missing and incomplete. Just like now! CHRIST. The whole franchise is being done with the most LOVE and CARE of any done before. I give the Wachowski's nothing but but pure fucking LOVE and RESPECT. They Fucking Did It.

Usually, I NEVER buy movies without renting them, but I read so many positive things about Equilibrium, that I took a chance. Sure, the story is THX-1138 with some Logan's Run, Blade & Matrix thrown in, but it is still a classy film (and great looking). Loved the fact that techno/electronica was used as the score instead of some "modern rock" metal bullshit. Very little about it bugged me. In fact, I am afraid that I will be comparing Matrix Reloaded to Equilibrium and NOT the original Matrix. BEST part of Equilibrium....No Keanu Reeves! Worst part...No Carrie Ann Moss!

Now I just feel like i'm picking on the retarded kid. Look, I'm sorry that you are such an angry, hate filled bag of shit. I'm sure your life has been a non-stop series of agonizing humiliations judging from what I can tell of your god-awful "personality". I'm sorry that George Lucas let you down. I'm sorry that the only pussy in your life is YOU. I personally don't put any real emotional stock in popcorn flicks, or any movie for that matter, because I have more important things to occupy my mind. And yes, I read ONE or TWO of your posts and noticed you as i notice ANYONE at this sight who hypocritically accuses others of being a NERD, WHICH YOU MOST CERTAINLY ARE!!!! So by your logic, "Fett" owns us all 'cause you can't possibly avoid his posts! Oh wait, logic obviously doesn't come into play in your world, the same world where Star Wars isn't a "kiddie " movie and you aren't a nerd. NERD.

Here's some true shit all you haters (and worried lovers) better keep in mind: 1) All this "Oh I'm disapointed in Reloaded, Matrix was so much more cool/innovative/stylish/intellectual/original" is mostly BULLSHIT. Anybody read Adam Gopniks New Yorker review? Like this fuckwad woulda said a damn thing different if he had reviewed the first one? Allofasudden The Matrix is the Coolest Sci-Fi movie ever made -- funny, I remember a bunch of Haters way back when goin all "Oh, it's not very cool/innovative/stylish/intellectual/orginal." So remembr that when, in six months time these same bitches are going "Well, of course Reloaded was The Greatest Sci-Fi Movie of All Time, but Revolutions sucks donkey dong..." 2)"Compelling Chracters" in sci-fi only exist upon repeat viewing. That's just the truth. Dave Bowman and Han Solo and Deckard and yes, Neo, we all go on and on about their "compelling characters" cuz we know every word of dialogue and every twitch of their face cuz we are GEEKS and we watch the movies a bazillion times each. Don't gimme this "Oh, where's the emotional arc" bullshit like you just got out of a fuckn Syd Field seminar -- you go for the first time for the splosions, bitch. If Harry wants to get all weepy, let him, he does it regularly -- but anybody who gets weepy over a sci-fi flick on first viewing is just lowdosing their lithium. Give it time, motherfuckers! 3) Star Wars fans are desperate for ANY movie to disapoint people as much as their beloved franchise has them. Ignore them completely. They're the movie version of Nintendo fans. 4) They do kung-fu cuz it's cool, ass -- what kinda fuckn movie would it be if Neo's walkin around goin "I undo your code, I undo your code, you can't actually hurt me cuz I'm GOD." Wow, that sounds really great! maybe it could just be two hours of Keanu in white space just telling us "Now I'm remaking the universe. Yup, just did it. And there it goes..." That's the logical extension, if he's "god." of course, if I remember correctly, nobody said he was God, they said he was a Messiah -- and Jesus may have done some cool shit, but they still nailed the fucker in the end. So go bitch to Yahweh about the fallibility of Chosen Ones and accept that a Kung Fu Fighting Jesus still has to throw down once in a while. Save your wtedreams of what YOUR super messiah would do for your personal cult or whatever 5) Any review of this movie is gonna be like a review of the extended FOTR that stops right after Elrond's council -- it ain't two movies, it's one big movie. When Revolutions is out, then the reviews will be legit. Till then, we're just hostages to the modern audience's inability to sit through a four hour epic. 6)No matter how good this movie is or isn't, there will always be the cock who swears it pales in comparison to (FILL IN PERSONAL GEEK OBSESSION), while some other dick thinks it's better than (FILL IN GREATEST PIECE OF ART IN HUMAN HISTORY). Thing is, you wouldn't let either get within ten feet of your daughter if you had one -- so who fuckn cares what Pimpledee and Pimpledum have to say anyways? 7) It's all moot till Moriarty reviews it anyways. Once he does, then we got a real fight. Harry I read. But he's the guy who loved Godzilla. remember, Roger Ebert never got Blue Velvet. some critics you can trust, and some...you just read.

Here's some true shit all you haters (and worried lovers) better keep in mind: 1) All this "Oh I'm disapointed in Reloaded, Matrix was so much more cool/innovative/stylish/intellectual/original" is mostly BULLSHIT. Anybody read Adam Gopniks New Yorker review? Like this fuckwad woulda said a damn thing different if he had reviewed the first one? Allofasudden The Matrix is the Coolest Sci-Fi movie ever made -- funny, I remember a bunch of Haters way back when goin all "Oh, it's not very cool/innovative/stylish/intellectual/orginal." So remembr that when, in six months time these same bitches are going "Well, of course Reloaded was The Greatest Sci-Fi Movie of All Time, but Revolutions sucks donkey dong..." 2)"Compelling Chracters" in sci-fi only exist upon repeat viewing. That's just the truth. Dave Bowman and Han Solo and Deckard and yes, Neo, we all go on and on about their "compelling characters" cuz we know every word of dialogue and every twitch of their face cuz we are GEEKS and we watch the movies a bazillion times each. Don't gimme this "Oh, where's the emotional arc" bullshit like you just got out of a fuckn Syd Field seminar -- you go for the first time for the splosions, bitch. If Harry wants to get all weepy, let him, he does it regularly -- but anybody who gets weepy over a sci-fi flick on first viewing is just lowdosing their lithium. Give it time, motherfuckers! 3) Star Wars fans are desperate for ANY movie to disapoint people as much as their beloved franchise has them. Ignore them completely. They're the movie version of Nintendo fans. 4) They do kung-fu cuz it's cool, ass -- what kinda fuckn movie would it be if Neo's walkin around goin "I undo your code, I undo your code, you can't actually hurt me cuz I'm GOD." Wow, that sounds really great! maybe it could just be two hours of Keanu in white space just telling us "Now I'm remaking the universe. Yup, just did it. And there it goes..." That's the logical extension, if he's "god." of course, if I remember correctly, nobody said he was God, they said he was a Messiah -- and Jesus may have done some cool shit, but they still nailed the fucker in the end. So go bitch to Yahweh about the fallibility of Chosen Ones and accept that a Kung Fu Fighting Jesus still has to throw down once in a while. Save your wtedreams of what YOUR super messiah would do for your personal cult or whatever 5) Any review of this movie is gonna be like a review of the extended FOTR that stops right after Elrond's council -- it ain't two movies, it's one big movie. When Revolutions is out, then the reviews will be legit. Till then, we're just hostages to the modern audience's inability to sit through a four hour epic. 6)No matter how good this movie is or isn't, there will always be the cock who swears it pales in comparison to (FILL IN PERSONAL GEEK OBSESSION), while some other dick thinks it's better than (FILL IN GREATEST PIECE OF ART IN HUMAN HISTORY). Thing is, you wouldn't let either get within ten feet of your daughter if you had one -- so who fuckn cares what Pimpledee and Pimpledum have to say anyways? 7) It's all moot till Moriarty reviews it anyways. Once he does, then we got a real fight. Harry I read. But he's the guy who loved Godzilla. remember, Roger Ebert never got Blue Velvet. some critics you can trust, and some...you just read.

LOTR fans are pissed because Two Towers was supposed to be their Empire Strikes Back and wasn't. And now Matrix fans are pissed because Reloaded was supposed to be their ESB and ain't. Hey, at least Lucas made two GREAT movies that are still considered to be in the top twenty of all time 25 years after they were made. Star Wars buzz was huge for 22 years right up to after Episode One came out. You can't even mention LOTR or Matrix in the same breath as Star Wars. AOTC wasn't the most loved film of all time, but it still made a hella amount of money, that's not bad for the fifth film in a series that premiered 25 years ago. Maybe you kids today just don't appreciate what that man did. You can't compare Bound to American Graffitti and you can't compare Matrix to Star Wars. The funny thing is, 15 years from now when Matrix 5:Blown Load is coming out, there will be a huge Matrix backlash like there is a Star Wars backlash now. And they might be pretty good films too, but they just won't be cool anymore, just like polyester slacks aren't cool today. Then maybe you'll get it.

I take things with an extreme grain of salt. It seems like bashing heavily hyped movies is the "in" thing nowadays. No doubt people want to set themselves apart from all the Time magazine covers, Newsweek covers, etc. etc. I'm still excited about this movie and will see it, I don't care what anyone says.
For the record, I hated XMen 2. All the complaints about Reloaded apply to X2 for me, bloated, no plot, boring, and no sense of drama or excitement at all.

Yes folks you read it here first, The Matrix Reloaded IS better than summer 2003's first undeniable blockbuster X-Men 2! Of course your results may vary depending on how many X-men comics you owned as a kid but I can honestly say I enjoyed Reloaded more. Sure the Brothers could have made a straight sequel to The Matrix by simply dressing up the first film with better action and worse actors, BUT THEY DIDN'T. They made a creative decision to continue their story as they saw fit and I salute them for this. Yes, their direction stumbles in Zion with some wince worthy dialogue, yes some of the action scenes seem overdone, but even with these considerable flaws this movie still has COOL TO SPARE.

It just used a bunch of stock of professional supporting actors like Joe Pantoliano and Laurence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves playing himself. Look at X-Men, it took a guy that nobody had ever seen before, Hugh Jackman, and turned him into one of the most vividly imagined characters ever and the guy just nailed it. Nobody had seen a character like that before. Same with Harrison Ford as Han Solo, nobody had seen that character played like that before. Or Michael J Fox in Back to the Future. I liked Keanu Reeves a lot in Bill and Ted, but that was 15 years ago, and he didn't bring anything new to The Matrix, although I admit they could have done worse, the guy has charm. I agree that a lot of the acting in these movies amounts to a lot of really subtle expressions and vocals but that's part of the challenge. The actors in the Matrix didn't win me over the first time I saw it, and so I wasn't interested in seeing it again. But hey, they filled their film with a lot of established stars and that's what happens. These films should be about creating stars, not just reusing stars that peaked years ago. Star Wars and X-Men created stars. Matrix was all about the gimmick of the camera trick in the action sequences. Nobody talks about how great any of the characters were in this movie. They were all just there to move the plot around.

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! Reloaded actually makes a brief reference ONCE to the events within "Final Flight of the Osiris" During that short film, a message is dropped off within the Matrix. The VIDEO GAME is a narrative about Mrs. Smith (Jada) getting the message and bringing it to Morpheus. Reloaded tells us this happened and does not at all depend on us knowing what they went through to get the info into the right hands. I know this because I'm playing the game and I've seen the movie. By the way, since Reloaded goes to great lengths to explain that the prophecy is BS and that "the one" isn't anything special, why is it a surprise that he's not doing godly things within the Matrix? I'm all for valid criticism, but if the best you can come up with is 'There's a video game based on the movie' or 'I didn't see vampires and werewolves' or 'there might be a subliminal political statement in it' then you might as well turn in your geek card.

It is possible that these people are posting negative reviews to dampen enthusiasm, thus setting you up to be surprised by this movie. I'm not sure that this will work though. This movie was doomed for several reasons including the untimely demise of Aaliah, reports of troubles in production and most importantly the lack of access to the source of the original idea. (Smirk). See, The Matrix was a opportunistic treatement of a premise, pilfered without redress. The truth is that hollywood producers have too much money to be able to think straight, and even if they could they are under orders to allow only a certain type of movie to get made, which is really quite silly if you think about it. Good ideas only remain so if they remain in tact. If you tamper with an idea, it becomes something else. Joel Silver should swallow some humble pie now and realize that in order to rectifiy his impulsive, averice driven propensity to use ideas regardless of their origin and/or actual intention -- he should perhaps seek out the autnors of those ideas and work with them to develop these movies. I know it might be beyond his powers to do so but come on, you can't tell me that the world will be stuck with second rate movie concepts until the earth is restored. I'm telling you, there are potential movies that could easily sit at number one in the box office for over six consecutive months. The problem is that hollywood cannot touch them unless they are stripped of their essence. This is what happened with the original Matrix and this is why this new movie will fail. Try to think of it like this. Some talentless guy wants to take credit for your work, but eventually comes unstuck because he is not you. Worst of all, he doesn't actually care as long as he makes a profit. People, the movie industry is in the wrong hands. TRUST ME. I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.

His title for the review of the movie -- "MATRIX: KINGDOM OF ASS-KICKING". As with Star Wars Episode I, this movie has so much hype to live up to, that it will be very hard for some to come out of the theater disappointed. As for me, I am down for more kung-fu and live action anime action.
The Belt Has Spoken!

I havn't seen the Matrix in four years, so maybe my memory is a little rusty. But I think some people (like me) expect Neo to display God-like ability in the Matrix because of the way the first movie ended. Unless my memory is wrong, Neo not only died in the Matrix, he temporarily died in the "real" world, too. Didn't he flatline while Trinity sat next to him holding his hand? Sure, he came back from the dead in the Matrix, but more importantly, he came back from the dead in the real world. Isn't that a God-like ability that goes beyond mere computer-hacking? He came back from the dead in the real world! So in Reloaded, why should Neo even bother fist-fighting anyone in the Matrix anymore - it has no effect on him in the real world. Why not leave it to the other characters like Morpheus to duke it out. Even if it turns out that the Nebuchadnezzar is not the true "real" world (I'm just speculating here), that wouldn't change the fact that the world of the Matrix can no longer affect Neo aboard the Nebuchadnezzar.

Forgot to mention that as a 30-year old female, I think Keanu looks pretty good in a black trenchcoat. I suspect this is the real reason we see him fighting in the Matrix - he simply looks better there than in the "real" world. But is that reason enough?

I saw this film tonight and I agree with the Big Guy, this was one underwhelming film. The car chase was cool and the twins were a neat effect but underused to the max. The Wachowskis really didn't expand on anything from the first film. The whole 139 minutes was rather lifeless and had none of the elements that made the first one so much damn fun. Even worse, the Agents were about as threatening as Smurfs! I will see the third one, but my enthusiasm for it is about as high as it is for "Scooby Doo 2".

right outta my pie hole. I agree. Let's everyone calm down. This is just the first half of one long movie. A bridge movie if there ever was one. The Wachowskis wanted to release these films one month apart. So, even if it is as dissappointing as everyone says, it can't be all that bad if we put the 2 pieces together. Let's just be patient. I have trust in the brothers.

Please no matter how much you like X men 2 (I thought it was great) don't try to tell me it has as good a movie to live up to as the matrix sequel does. For one the fight scenes in the first X-Men were not very well done, which is why it's so easy to say the second one is a great improvement. The fight on the statue of liberty was garbage. as a contrast all anybody can say is will Reloaded be as dope as the first one? You notice nobody has asked that about x-men 2? It's because time has shown X-Men not to be a very good movie....... As for plot, both X-Men flicks have centered around the "run to stop a big machine" kind of ending. There are good characters in X-Men, i think Mystique, Jean Gray and Wolverine are great. There are also characters like Storm and Cyclops (the leaders of the group, remember?) whose development has been terrible.

The matrix was just a really cool looking movie with a good enough mix of sci fi elements to hold it thru a couple hours. The whole thing doesn't make sense if you think thru it. I am a programmer and I can tell you that NOTHING that happened in the matrix makes sense from a programming perspective. NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING. Everything that could go somewhere real goes the wrong place and collapses in on itself. I MEAN USING PEOPLE AS BATTERIES???!!! WTF??!! And look at the huge stores of humans in their sky high prison cell/pods and tell me that the machines couldn't figure out how to get around solar power. Shit. They could have just rocketed themselves outside the atmosphere and been solar powered. Come on. And that is the tip of the ice berg. I know you all must have already thought about how most of it couldn't make sense. But who cares. It was like James Bond and every other super hero. They don't make sense they are just fun. And don't EVEN get me started on how X Men. Talk about unrealistic. The Matrix makes sense compaired to the X Men. I loved X2. Saw it twice in the same day. But all of the mutants are supposed to be physically mutated and only wolverine is. The rest have off the wall god like powers that they control with their minds. Collosus has bad ass metal skin... but, he wouldn't be able to move if he were real. Shit superman? Flying. None of it makes sense when you think about it. Watch the Matrix and tear it appart like Reloaded and you will feel the same way. Except... I do see how you could be dissapointed at NEO not being GOD like. But there wouldn't be a movie that went with that that ANYONE would have INVESTED in being made. So, sometimes you gotta just take what you can get. It's better than nothing. Unless you are a spoiled brat who has no job and depends on entertainment to find meaning in life. Sucks to be you.

I've seen it 3.5 times now, and I'm pretty sure Zion isn't destroyed....yet.
From what I gathered, the battle we didn't get to see was a "head them off at the pass" battle. The one dude even says, after telling how the machines just crushed the ships, they went right back to digging.
Certainly very close to Zion, but not there yet.
But you're supposed to feel worried because that means Zion no longer has a 'standing army'.

liked it, and he even called AICN out at the start of his review. Too bad I couldn't finish his review because it was starting to get good, too. And I know Nunziata was putting it in the 8.2 range, which is pretty fucking good if you ask me. And if Universal really is shitting themselves that HULK has "too much drama" count me as being disappointed, not in the film, but the execs.

C'mon even in the trailer you can see a completely CGI Neo ighting hundreds of Agent Smiths. For a theme that spouts on and on about reclaiming our humanity from the virtual world, the Wachowski brothers really messed up by ignoring the most important concept they themselves introduced. I knew this movie was gonna suck when I saw the trailer with the Big Brawl.

After it was over I turned to my geek pal and said "That was one of the best goddamn comic books I have ever read." The matrix movies(not films) use scifi B.S. to set up cool kungfu and other action set pieces...Sorry dorks the wachowskis are not trying to show you the meaning of life...

Well, first-time poster, but there are a couple of things in this review that make no sense at all and I just can't resist calling bullshit on Harry. I apologize if these have already been observed (I think at least the first one has a couple of times) but wow, that is a lot of talkback...
1) I saw this movie earlier today and Zion is not destroyed at the end of the movie. So all that bullshit about not getting to see the fall of humanity and whatnot...all that ranting about Zion getting destroyed is total bullshit, because it's still there. That seems pretty clear at the end of this film.
2) If I were Neo, and I pulled that whole jumping-into-an-Agent-to-destroy him shit, and then he came back much more powerful than before, I wouldn't be walking around pulling that on any other Agents, either. I'd stick to my Kung Fu and I'd like it.

How the fuck do you justify comparing peace of shite like 'Last fuckin' Action Hero'!!! to something as deep and profound and fucking original as The Matrix Reloaded!!! In Europe this flick is getting much better reviews, because you know what Europeans understand this shit better than Americans; who are for the most part fucking shallow. The Wachowskis are fuckig intelligent Americans and I think they made a European- Oriental Action sci-fi flick. And then there's the rave party issue: most Americans don't like raves they hate raves, and most importantly Harry don't like raves, in Europe people do like raves and especially whre I live in Holland. So you're automatically bashing what you don't understand. The Wachowskis are brave directors and I admire that they make their own vision.

He obviously was expecting too much going into this movie, and it's didn't meet HIS lofty expectations. How about reading a PROFESSIONAL's review. EBERT : 3 1/2 stars
THE MATRIX RELOADED / ***1/2 (R)
May 14, 2003
Neo Keanu Reeves
Morpheus Laurence Fishburne
Agent Smith Hugo Weaving
Trinity Carrie-Anne Moss
Oracle Gloria Foster
Niobe Jada Pinkett Smith
Zee Nona Gaye
Lock Harry Lennix
Link Harold Perrineau
Persephone Monica Bellucci
Twins Neil and Adrian Rayment
Warner Bros. presents a film written and directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Running time: 138 minutes. Rated R (for sci-fi violence and some sexuality).
BY ROGER EBERT
Commander Lock: "Not everyone believes what you believe."
Morpheus: "My beliefs do not require that they do."
Characters are always talking like this in "The Matrix Reloaded," which plays like a collaboration involving a geek, a comic book and the smartest kid in Philosophy 101. Morpheus in particular unreels extended speeches that remind me of Laurence Olivier's remarks when he won his honorary Oscar--the speech that had Jon Voight going "God!" on TV, but in print turned out to be quasi-Shakespearean doublespeak. The speeches provide not meaning, but the effect of meaning: It sure sounds like those guys are saying some profound things.
That will not prevent fanboys from analyzing the philosophy of "The Matrix Reloaded" in endless Web postings. Part of the fun is becoming an expert in the deep meaning of shallow pop mythology; there is something refreshingly ironic about becoming an authority on the transient extrusions of mass culture, and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) now joins Obi-Wan Kenobi as the Plato of our age.
I say this not in disapproval, but in amusement. "The Matrix" (1999), written and directed by the brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski, inspired so much inflamed pseudo-philosophy that it's all "The Matrix Reloaded" can do to stay ahead of its followers. It is an immensely skillful sci-fi adventure, combining the usual elements: heroes and villains, special effects and stunts, chases and explosions, romance and oratory. It develops its world with more detail than the first movie was able to afford, gives us our first glimpse of the underground human city of Zion, burrows closer to the heart of the secret of the Matrix, and promotes its hero, Neo, from confused draftee to a Christ figure in training.
As we learned in "The Matrix," the Machines need human bodies, millions and millions of them, for their ability to generate electricity. In an astonishing sequence, we saw countless bodies locked in pods around central cores that extended out of sight above and below. The Matrix is the virtual reality that provides the minds of these sleepers with the illusion that they are active and productive. Questions arise, such as, is there no more efficient way to generate power? And why give the humans dreams when they would generate just as much energy if comatose? And why create such a complex virtual world for each and every one of them, when they could all be given the same illusion and be none the wiser? Why is each dreamer himself or herself, occupying the same body in virtual reality as the one asleep in the pod?
But never mind. We are grateful that 250,000 humans have escaped from the grid of the Matrix, and gathered to build Zion, which is "near the Earth's core--where there is more heat." As the movie opens, we are alarmed to learn that the Machines are drilling toward Zion so quickly that they will arrive in 36 hours. We may also wonder if Zion and its free citizens really exist, or if the humans only think so, but that leads to a logical loop ending in madness.
Neo (Keanu Reeves) is required during this film to fly, to master martial arts, and to learn that his faith and belief can make things happen. His fights all take place within virtual reality spaces, while he reclines in a chair and is linked to the cyberworld, but he can really be killed, because if the mind thinks it is dead, "the body is controlled by the mind." All of the fight sequences, therefore, are logically contests not between physical bodies, but between video game-players, and the Neo in the big fight scenes is actually his avatar.
The visionary Morpheus, inspired by the prophecies of the Oracle, instructs Neo--who eventually gains the confidence to leap great distances, to fly and to destroy dozens of clones of Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) in martial combat. That fight scene is made with the wonders of digital effects and the choreography of the Hong Kong action director Yuen Wo Ping, who also did the fights in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." It provides one of the three great set pieces in the movie.
The second comes when Morpheus returns to Zion and addresses the assembled multitude--an audience that looks like a mosh pit crossed with the underground slaves in "Metropolis." After his speech, the citizens dance in a percussion-driven frenzy, which is intercut with Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) having sex. I think their real bodies are having the sex, although you can never be sure.
The third sensational sequence is a chase involving cars, motorcycles and trailer trucks, with gloriously choreographed moves including leaps into the air as a truck continues to move underneath. That this scene logically takes place in cyberspace does not diminish its thrilling 14-minute fun ride, although we might wonder--when deadly enemies meet in one of these virtual spaces, who programmed it? (I am sure I will get untold thousands of e-mails explaining it all to me.)
I became aware, during the film, that a majority of the major characters were played by African Americans. Neo and Trinity are white, and so is Agent Smith, but consider Morpheus; his superior Commander Lock (Harry Lennix); the beautiful and deadly Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), who once loved Morpheus and now is with Lock, although she explains enigmatically that some things never change; the programmer Link (Harold Perrineau); Link's wife, Zee (Nona Gaye), who has the obligatory scene where she complains he's away from home too much, and the Oracle (the late Gloria Foster, very portentous). From what we can see of the extras, the population of Zion is largely black.
It has become commonplace for science fiction epics to feature one or two African-American stars, but we've come a long way since Billy Dee Williams in "Return of the Jedi." The Wachowski brothers use so many African Americans, I suspect, not for their box-office appeal, because the Matrix is the star of the movie, and not because they are good actors (which they are), but because to the white teenagers who are the primary audience for this movie, African-Americans embody a cool, a cachet, an authenticy. Morpheus is the power center of the movie, and Neo's role is essentially to study under him and absorb his mojo.
The film ends with "To Be Concluded," a reminder that the third film in the trilogy arrives in November. Toward the end, there are scenes involving characters who seem pregnant with possibilities for Part 3. One is the Architect (Helmut Bakaltis), who says he designed the Matrix and revises everything Neo thinks he knows about it. Is the Architect a human, or an avatar of the Machines? The thing is, you can never know for sure. He seems to hint that when you strip away one level of false virtual reality, you find another level beneath. Maybe everything so far is several levels up?
Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time tells the story of a cosmologist whose speech is interrupted by a little old lady who informs him that the universe rests on the back of a turtle. "Ah, yes, madame," the scientist replies, "but what does the turtle rest on?" The old lady shoots back: "You can't trick me, young man. It's nothing but turtles, turtles, turtles, all the way down."

...because apparently, from what I'm reading here, we're only allowed to see one movie these days. We all have our preferences, but KEE-RIST! people! Yeah, some of these movies are better than some of the others, but aren't you embarassed by getting your fucking identity from the movie series you see? If I was Joel Silver or a Watchoutski Brother, I'd be all over the place saying that MATRIX: RENEGOTIATED is better, but guess what...I don't get any fucking dough from this movie or any of the others, so I'll just go see 'em. Will I bitch about 'em if I don't like 'em? Shit, yeah!!! But if I like 'em, am I going to declare myself in THE MATRIX/HARRY POTTER/SPIDER-MAN camp and troll out whenever a LORD OF THE RINGS or STAR WARS story comes up? Shit, no!!! Here's the deal for all of you trying to convince the other that the movies you like are the only ones anybody should see: when you go to the fucking theater and hand them your money, they'll sell you a ticket and it doesn't matter what other movies you've seen...as long as you hand them the money.

When the first Matrix flick came out, I felt like I was the only one not completely entranced by it. While I respected that the Wachowski's were trying to do something more adventurous with the medium, I was left under-whelmed by the film as a whole. In my mind it lacked something that all the cool visuals in the world couldn't cover up. Namely, a heart.
If we trace the history of the modern dystopic sci-fi film to Blade Runner, we find that at its core; underneath all the gorgeous eye-candy, it's basically a love story. Albeit, also a meditation on slavery, servitude and the alienation of the post-modern condition, blah, blah, blah. The chemistry between Deckard and Rachael jumps off the screen. We care about them. The supposed sparks between Neo and Trinity weren't there. Also, Blade Runner allowed us to breathe and take the in entire world we were seeing. There is a real, lyrical beauty to that film.
Don't get me wrong I liked the original Matrix, a lot. I just felt something was missing.
Add to that their bald-faced plagiarism, that they lifted entire sequences from films like Ghost in the Shell. The sources they lifted from, specifically Ghost in the Shell, had that same meditative beauty to them that the aforementioned Blade Runner had.
What about that awful green tint that all the scenes that take place within the Matrix had? It made those sequences seem muddy and indistinct. If you want to imply artificiality, make your palette pop. The matrix should have looked like Technicolor, not the three-strip Technicolor either; I'm talking about the original two-strip kind. That way when we get into the "real" world it should be kind of a comedown. Then the conflict in the Joe Pantiliano character would have been more compelling.
The Matrix as a construct should be sexy; you should WANT to be there. More than you WANT to be in the "real" world. If we extend the analogy of the Matrix to our modern, multi-casted, all-pervasive media environment we find that the promise of attainment is far more compelling than the reality of attainment. The modern media

Read the TIME review. They probably got it right: A movie who's ambitions don't go any higher than "making 100 million on opening weekend". The whole enterprise -- from the relentless hype and commercial spin offs (made all the worse because they're trying to trade off the "cool" factor of the heroes) -- give the entire movie the feeling of a money machine run amok.

And I heard he had written a book (The .gif image of the book I'm staring at now, at the sidebar seems to confirm this :)). I wonder, is the book as poorly written as this review? Granted, I haven't read a lot of Harry's reviews, but he doesn't strike me as the type who would write well in a book, but write very poorly in his reviews.

Harry, this is a Kung Fu, Sci Fi, Comic book movie. Nothing more or less. If it doesn't live up to your expectations then you are asking for too much. I will take a good Matrix film over a bad Star Wars film anyday. By the way this is only half a movie and you have not seen the money shot yet. The Brothers are waiting for you in November. See you in Zion.

At the end of Reloaded, Neo and his pals are running away on foot from a fleet of Sentinels, in the sewer system of the real world. But then, Neo realizes "something", and simply STOPS the Sentinels with a gesture of his hand, as he would stop bullets in the Matrix. Most people immediately thought "So, Neo has powers in the real world as well, now?". But NO! This means that the "real world" DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST! That it is nothing more than an extension of the Matrix! If properly understood, this final moment validates absolutely EVERYTHING that was mentionned thoughout the film. It explains how Agent Smith was able to dowload a copy of his program into a human being in the "real world", it explains why the Merovingian seems to be the first "one", even though he is nothing more than a sentiant program. It explains why it is mentionned that the City of Zion and the human resistance has been created and destroyed five times already BY THE MATRIX, it also explains why it is suggested that NEO HIMSELF is in reality a mere computer generated simulation. So, this is the truth: In the beginning, the Matrix knew that a few human beings would eventually realize that they were living in a virtual fantasy, and that these individuals would attempt to escape, to wake up from this dream world. So the machines created ZION, a virtual recreation of the real world, that these individuals could "awaken" into. The humans were completely fooled by the illusion of Zion, of the "real world", but the machines realized that they would need to create a belief system enabling them to control the minds of these people. Enter the Oracle, an artificial intelligence which would convince the human resistance that a messiah was coming by telling them of the prophecy of The One. And then they created The One, a sentiant program convinced that he was a human being, that he was able to manipulate the Matrix at will. His apparent "physical body" in the "real world" would eliminate any doubts that he was a mere illusion, a fabrication of the Matrix. And so, five different Ones unknowingly lead five different human resistances to their own inevitable downfall. The children of Zion could have liberated every single human mind from the Matrix, it would not have mattered, for the real world was in actuality nothing more than another Matrix. This mind-blowing stuff probably will be far above and beyond most people's heads, just as it was over the heads of practically every character in this movie. At the end, Morpheus loses his faith. No shit, if you found out that a hundred years of war had been entirely futile, and that the Messiah was merely another program being manipulated by the Matrix, wouldn't you lose your faith as well. And since the cycle of creation and destruction of both Zion and the Matrix is repeated every hundred years, and this is the sixth and final time, then in the REAL real world, its not the year 2199, but more like the early 28th century. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

At the end of Reloaded, Neo and his pals are running away on foot from a fleet of Sentinels, in the sewer system of the real world. But then, Neo realizes "something", and simply STOPS the Sentinels with a gesture of his hand, as he would stop bullets in the Matrix. Most people immediately thought "So, Neo has powers in the real world as well, now?". But NO! This means that the "real world" DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST! That it is nothing more than an extension of the Matrix! If properly understood, this final moment validates absolutely EVERYTHING that was mentionned thoughout the film. It explains how Agent Smith was able to dowload a copy of his program into a human being in the "real world", it explains why the Merovingian seems to be the first "one", even though he is nothing more than a sentiant program. It explains why it is mentionned that the City of Zion and the human resistance has been created and destroyed five times already BY THE MATRIX, it also explains why it is suggested that NEO HIMSELF is in reality a mere computer generated simulation. So, this is the truth: In the beginning, the Matrix knew that a few human beings would eventually realize that they were living in a virtual fantasy, and that these individuals would attempt to escape, to wake up from this dream world. So the machines created ZION, a virtual recreation of the real world, that these individuals could "awaken" into. The humans were completely fooled by the illusion of Zion, of the "real world", but the machines realized that they would need to create a belief system enabling them to control the minds of these people. Enter the Oracle, an artificial intelligence which would convince the human resistance that a messiah was coming by telling them of the prophecy of The One. And then they created The One, a sentiant program convinced that he was a human being, that he was able to manipulate the Matrix at will. His apparent "physical body" in the "real world" would eliminate any doubts that he was a mere illusion, a fabrication of the Matrix. And so, five different Ones unknowingly lead five different human resistances to their own inevitable downfall. The children of Zion could have liberated every single human mind from the Matrix, it would not have mattered, for the real world was in actuality nothing more than another Matrix. This mind-blowing stuff probably will be far above and beyond most people's heads, just as it was over the heads of practically every character in this movie. At the end, Morpheus loses his faith. No shit, if you found out that a hundred years of war had been entirely futile, and that the Messiah was merely another program being manipulated by the Matrix, wouldn't you lose your faith as well. And since the cycle of creation and destruction of both Zion and the Matrix is repeated every hundred years, and this is the sixth and final time, then in the REAL real world, its not the year 2199, but more like the early 28th century. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

At the end of Reloaded, Neo and his pals are running away on foot from a fleet of Sentinels, in the sewer system of the real world. But then, Neo realizes "something", and simply STOPS the Sentinels with a gesture of his hand, as he would stop bullets in the Matrix. Most people immediately thought "So, Neo has powers in the real world as well, now?". But NO! This means that the "real world" DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST! That it is nothing more than an extension of the Matrix! If properly understood, this final moment validates absolutely EVERYTHING that was mentionned thoughout the film. It explains how Agent Smith was able to dowload a copy of his program into a human being in the "real world", it explains why the Merovingian seems to be the first "one", even though he is nothing more than a sentiant program. It explains why it is mentionned that the City of Zion and the human resistance has been created and destroyed five times already BY THE MATRIX, it also explains why it is suggested that NEO HIMSELF is in reality a mere computer generated simulation. So, this is the truth: In the beginning, the Matrix knew that a few human beings would eventually realize that they were living in a virtual fantasy, and that these individuals would attempt to escape, to wake up from this dream world. So the machines created ZION, a virtual recreation of the real world, that these individuals could "awaken" into. The humans were completely fooled by the illusion of Zion, of the "real world", but the machines realized that they would need to create a belief system enabling them to control the minds of these people. Enter the Oracle, an artificial intelligence which would convince the human resistance that a messiah was coming by telling them of the prophecy of The One. And then they created The One, a sentiant program convinced that he was a human being, that he was able to manipulate the Matrix at will. His apparent "physical body" in the "real world" would eliminate any doubts that he was a mere illusion, a fabrication of the Matrix. And so, five different Ones unknowingly lead five different human resistances to their own inevitable downfall. The children of Zion could have liberated every single human mind from the Matrix, it would not have mattered, for the real world was in actuality nothing more than another Matrix. This mind-blowing stuff probably will be far above and beyond most people's heads, just as it was over the heads of practically every character in this movie. At the end, Morpheus loses his faith. No shit, if you found out that a hundred years of war had been entirely futile, and that the Messiah was merely another program being manipulated by the Matrix, wouldn't you lose your faith as well. And since the cycle of creation and destruction of both Zion and the Matrix is repeated every hundred years, and this is the sixth and final time, then in the REAL real world, its not the year 2199, but more like the early 28th century. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

At the end of Reloaded, Neo and his pals are running away on foot from a fleet of Sentinels, in the sewer system of the real world. But then, Neo realizes "something", and simply STOPS the Sentinels with a gesture of his hand, as he would stop bullets in the Matrix. Most people immediately thought "So, Neo has powers in the real world as well, now?". But NO! This means that the "real world" DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST! That it is nothing more than an extension of the Matrix! If properly understood, this final moment validates absolutely EVERYTHING that was mentionned thoughout the film. It explains how Agent Smith was able to dowload a copy of his program into a human being in the "real world", it explains why the Merovingian seems to be the first "one", even though he is nothing more than a sentiant program. It explains why it is mentionned that the City of Zion and the human resistance has been created and destroyed five times already BY THE MATRIX, it also explains why it is suggested that NEO HIMSELF is in reality a mere computer generated simulation. So, this is the truth: In the beginning, the Matrix knew that a few human beings would eventually realize that they were living in a virtual fantasy, and that these individuals would attempt to escape, to wake up from this dream world. So the machines created ZION, a virtual recreation of the real world, that these individuals could "awaken" into. The humans were completely fooled by the illusion of Zion, of the "real world", but the machines realized that they would need to create a belief system enabling them to control the minds of these people. Enter the Oracle, an artificial intelligence which would convince the human resistance that a messiah was coming by telling them of the prophecy of The One. And then they created The One, a sentiant program convinced that he was a human being, that he was able to manipulate the Matrix at will. His apparent "physical body" in the "real world" would eliminate any doubts that he was a mere illusion, a fabrication of the Matrix. And so, five different Ones unknowingly lead five different human resistances to their own inevitable downfall. The children of Zion could have liberated every single human mind from the Matrix, it would not have mattered, for the real world was in actuality nothing more than another Matrix. This mind-blowing stuff probably will be far above and beyond most people's heads, just as it was over the heads of practically every character in this movie. At the end, Morpheus loses his faith. No shit, if you found out that a hundred years of war had been entirely futile, and that the Messiah was merely another program being manipulated by the Matrix, wouldn't you lose your faith as well. And since the cycle of creation and destruction of both Zion and the Matrix is repeated every hundred years, and this is the sixth and final time, then in the REAL real world, its not the year 2199, but more like the early 28th century. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

At the end of Reloaded, Neo and his pals are running away on foot from a fleet of Sentinels, in the sewer system of the real world. But then, Neo realizes "something", and simply STOPS the Sentinels with a gesture of his hand, as he would stop bullets in the Matrix. Most people immediately thought "So, Neo has powers in the real world as well, now?". But NO! This means that the "real world" DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST! That it is nothing more than an extension of the Matrix! If properly understood, this final moment validates absolutely EVERYTHING that was mentionned thoughout the film. It explains how Agent Smith was able to dowload a copy of his program into a human being in the "real world", it explains why the Merovingian seems to be the first "one", even though he is nothing more than a sentiant program. It explains why it is mentionned that the City of Zion and the human resistance has been created and destroyed five times already BY THE MATRIX, it also explains why it is suggested that NEO HIMSELF is in reality a mere computer generated simulation. So, this is the truth: In the beginning, the Matrix knew that a few human beings would eventually realize that they were living in a virtual fantasy, and that these individuals would attempt to escape, to wake up from this dream world. So the machines created ZION, a virtual recreation of the real world, that these individuals could "awaken" into. The humans were completely fooled by the illusion of Zion, of the "real world", but the machines realized that they would need to create a belief system enabling them to control the minds of these people. Enter the Oracle, an artificial intelligence which would convince the human resistance that a messiah was coming by telling them of the prophecy of The One. And then they created The One, a sentiant program convinced that he was a human being, that he was able to manipulate the Matrix at will. His apparent "physical body" in the "real world" would eliminate any doubts that he was a mere illusion, a fabrication of the Matrix. And so, five different Ones unknowingly lead five different human resistances to their own inevitable downfall. The children of Zion could have liberated every single human mind from the Matrix, it would not have mattered, for the real world was in actuality nothing more than another Matrix. This mind-blowing stuff probably will be far above and beyond most people's heads, just as it was over the heads of practically every character in this movie. At the end, Morpheus loses his faith. No shit, if you found out that a hundred years of war had been entirely futile, and that the Messiah was merely another program being manipulated by the Matrix, wouldn't you lose your faith as well. And since the cycle of creation and destruction of both Zion and the Matrix is repeated every hundred years, and this is the sixth and final time, then in the REAL real world, its not the year 2199, but more like the early 28th century. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

At the end of Reloaded, Neo and his pals are running away on foot from a fleet of Sentinels, in the sewer system of the real world. But then, Neo realizes "something", and simply STOPS the Sentinels with a gesture of his hand, as he would stop bullets in the Matrix. Most people immediately thought "So, Neo has powers in the real world as well, now?". But NO! This means that the "real world" DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST! That it is nothing more than an extension of the Matrix! If properly understood, this final moment validates absolutely EVERYTHING that was mentionned thoughout the film. It explains how Agent Smith was able to dowload a copy of his program into a human being in the "real world", it explains why the Merovingian seems to be the first "one", even though he is nothing more than a sentiant program. It explains why it is mentionned that the City of Zion and the human resistance has been created and destroyed five times already BY THE MATRIX, it also explains why it is suggested that NEO HIMSELF is in reality a mere computer generated simulation. So, this is the truth: In the beginning, the Matrix knew that a few human beings would eventually realize that they were living in a virtual fantasy, and that these individuals would attempt to escape, to wake up from this dream world. So the machines created ZION, a virtual recreation of the real world, that these individuals could "awaken" into. The humans were completely fooled by the illusion of Zion, of the "real world", but the machines realized that they would need to create a belief system enabling them to control the minds of these people. Enter the Oracle, an artificial intelligence which would convince the human resistance that a messiah was coming by telling them of the prophecy of The One. And then they created The One, a sentiant program convinced that he was a human being, that he was able to manipulate the Matrix at will. His apparent "physical body" in the "real world" would eliminate any doubts that he was a mere illusion, a fabrication of the Matrix. And so, five different Ones unknowingly lead five different human resistances to their own inevitable downfall. The children of Zion could have liberated every single human mind from the Matrix, it would not have mattered, for the real world was in actuality nothing more than another Matrix. This mind-blowing stuff probably will be far above and beyond most people's heads, just as it was over the heads of practically every character in this movie. At the end, Morpheus loses his faith. No shit, if you found out that a hundred years of war had been entirely futile, and that the Messiah was merely another program being manipulated by the Matrix, wouldn't you lose your faith as well. And since the cycle of creation and destruction of both Zion and the Matrix is repeated every hundred years, and this is the sixth and final time, then in the REAL real world, its not the year 2199, but more like the early 28th century. - I WANT YOU, but not in that way.

Harry, maybe your are wrong maybe right, but there's something that I like to say before I watch the movie myself. Your dissapointment is my joy in regards of Neo, I never expect him to change to a AKIRA like caracter. The ability to change the code dont mean he can do everything. How much energy he spends doing it. He dosen't have to obey the rules of THE MATRIX, but it must others he cant broke. A code has to have meaning. Other, what's the amplitude of his powers? He can change the matrix but who say he can change all the matrix at the time. Second, actions have response, he breack a code of smith, it makes him more powerfull. To me Neo it's not christ, he is what the indu call sidhha, wich means he posses great abilities. He dosen't have the obligation to teache anyone. To finish the world can be a illusion but you still have to interact with him. H's not only human, but he still human.

This guy is saying that the Matrix had no heart to it. That the Matrix: Reloaded doesn't pull through with what it supposedly promised in the last film. And that people's supposed expectations with what's going to happen never happens. Didn't this happen with Star Wars: Episode 2? Then, why in the hell did Harry like that POS film and not The Matrix? Very puzzling indeed.

Harry and Quint made the same wrong assumption - that Neo is supposed to be a god in the Matrix. And where exactly did they get that idea? Morpheus said that the One could bend the Matrix to whatever he wanted it to be. It's a legend, a prophesy, the lesson they teach in Zion's churches. How boring would the movie be if Neogod could snap his fingers and melt all the bad guys? Yawn. Here's a secret about legends... they tend to get bigger with each telling. When you are elevating a hero, especially one that you look to as a savior, then over time you tend to filter out the faults and multiply the strengths. The important line in Matrix was near the beginning when the guy who came to Neo's apartment said "You're my personal Jesus Christ". In Christian doctrine, Jesus is the Savior and he can heal the sick and walk on water, stuff ordinary folks can't do, but at the end of the day if you hit him, kick him and nail him to a cross - he dies. He was human at the time. Neo is NOT god - he is one who will help the humans defeat the machines by breaking down the Matrix and waking up all the Evereadys and Duracells from their electronic dreams. Also - how long did it take Superman to grow into his powers. Depending on which version you subscribe to (comics, movies, TV) he may have taken years to develop and learn to use everything at his disposal. My understanding is that Reloaded is only six months after the first one in movie time, so Neo is probably like any human - and remember his IS human - in that he learns with time. You may understand all of the mechanics of playing piano after six months of lessons, but that doesn't mean you are ready for Carnegie Hall. Is Reloaded a great movie? I don't know because I haven't seen it, but Harry and Quint have read two chapters of a three chapter story and their complaints are based on how they think it *should* have been written. Reloaded is not meant as a stand alone movie. It is the bridge between Matrix and Revolutions. After I see Revolutions I will judge Reloaded and decide if rules were broken on not yet completely revealed for myself. Oh, and guys - Vampires and Werewolves - I haven't seen the movie but I'm guessing you should look up the word "metaphor". How many times has Osama Bin Lauden been called a monster in the last two years, and I've yet to see a picture of him with fangs, hairy paws or bolts in his neck. "There is no spoon" didn't mean the spoon Neo was holding specifically, it was a metaphor for everything accepted by the masses as "real" inside the Matrix. So - no I'm not a Matrix apologist, but I think Harry and Quints reasons for not liking this film were flawed. I may walk out of the theater this weekend saying "that was a disappointment" - but not for the reasons Harry and Quint gave.

Alright! It's a movie with a bunch of special effects and a halfway decent story. By the way I hope that an explanation is given in the movie about the whole human use to jumpstart nuclear reactors. I could just picture it right now, Morpheous explaining the whole concept like the previous post would take 1 hour and 13 minutes in his monotone voice. About Agent Smith coming back...the Matrix is a big ass computer, right? What if the Matrix's DBA did a backup every couple of hours? Yes, if a program is deleted, a backup would be used to restore the program and 'voila' A. Smith is back. They said that the original Matrix was not successful in the first movie, that's probably because it ran in a Windows Operating System with a server with the same diminutive power as the AICN web site. I just want the Matrix to be a part of a Matrix that is part of another Matrix... Imagine that, getting out of the Matrix and as you are laying on the ground half dead after defeating the machines Morpheus passes by in a Vespa and tells you that you have to fight your way through two other Matrixes! This franchise could last for thousands of years! Maybe the future Matrix will produce the final chapter.

like the subject says...i can't fucking wait to see the matrix. regardless of what everyone is crying about ie....i was so underwhelmed by the matrix...i still think its going to kick ass even if there are a few holes in the plot. i don't think i can count on 1 hand the number of movies i saw where i thought things could have been done differnt. the hero could have done this or he should have used these powers. what ever. who the fuck cares. its a movie. of course there are going to be what you might consider flaws. big deal. go to the thearter to enjoy yourself. not to be a fucking critic. and harry, if your so underwhelmed by the matrix why do you have your little matrix animation in the corner of my screen right now. i gues it couldn't have been to underwhelming. and by the way...episode 1 was fucking horrible and the thing that killed episode 2...jar jar was the reason the republic was destroyed. how fucking gay can george lucas be. i mean please

lets be honest the second movie in almost any franchise is never better than the first! exception the empire strikes back. examples of weaker 2nd movies. temple of doom,the two towers, chamber of secerts, i can go on and on, oh! i almost forgot highlander 2 the quckening! the middele part of any trilogy seems to get the shaft be it edits, story changes, too long, or just bad ideals of witch way to go! the last always seems to redeem the trilogy. example the last crusade! hopefully return of the king, or highlander 3...........well ok bad example!

I agree with everything you said about Matrix Reloaded except when you said it's a good movie -- I saw it last night and thought that it was a mess. There isn't one scene that comes close to what they executed in the first one. This movie tries to ride the back of the first Matrix instead of trying to come up with a new story or a progression of the characters. There's no sense of peril or drama. Indeed, Neo and the rest the gang seems pretty much invincible until the very end. Overall, it seemed a bloated mess full of excess and lacking thought or care. Even worse it's full of embarassing scenes, as you pointed out (the rave, the kid -- the coucin decked out as if they're headed to the Renaissance fair -- yikes!) I was so looking forward to this movie -- so sad.

I agree with everything you said about Matrix Reloaded except when you said it's a good movie -- I saw it last night and thought that it was a mess. There isn't one scene that comes close to what they executed in the first one. This movie tries to ride the back of the first Matrix instead of trying to come up with a new story or a progression of the characters. There's no sense of peril or drama. Indeed, Neo and the rest the gang seems pretty much invincible until the very end. Overall, it seemed a bloated mess full of excess and lacking thought or care. Even worse it's full of embarassing scenes, as you pointed out (the rave, the kid -- the coucin decked out as if they're headed to the Renaissance fair -- yikes!) I was so looking forward to this movie -- so sad.

And it looks like he's gunning to bring down another movie. Man after his last few attempts to control the opinions of the movie going public I wouldn't believe a word he says ( and I used to be on his side in these talkbacks ). I get the feeling that his reviews come more from his willingness to see a picture succede or fail. Sorry Harry but after your heavey handedness with Nemesis but you loved that visually pretty snooze fest AOTC I can't take you seriously anymore. I will go see the Matrix Reloaded and I'll bet I'll love it! I'd be willing to bet many others will also. You took a wrong turn when you stopped just giving your opinion and tried to be influencial.

Harry, thanks for confirming what anyone with a brain knows...the Matrix is taking your money and laughing at you. That's all it is and ever was. Don't need an Oracle to determine I'll wait for HBO to show it next fall so I laugh long and hard at this garbage. If you want to get on a bandwagon, O large one, why not get SOMEONE to produce Harlan Ellison's "I, Robot" screenplay. It'd make "A.I" and both Star Wars films (I and II) look like the crap they are. THAT should be your mission from now on, Harry; take the industry to task when they fuck over material like Starship Troopers and make it utter tripe. You have your orders...go forth and fight. If you need help, boots to the head are always in stock!

It's fun! I get some of my burly friends over, we all take off our clothes, get oiled up, and then they pile on me in the middle of the room. Then I try to fight my way out from under them, and anything goes!

Harry!
Normally I don't pay much attention to the reviews on AICN, but when YOU are disappointed with a movie, well...
Fortunately there are plenty of other eagerly anticipated films this year. The Wachowski's were due for a letdown film. Too bad that it appears they did it the way everyone else does, with the script.
Best-
Doug

It's morons like you that make me wish that we had just let Hitler have Europe. Do you really believe the shit you're saying? Dude, lay off the dick sucking for awhile, it's affecting your brain.___Oh, and Matrix Reloaded was a disappointment.

Enough about Matrix crap...that's so this week. Let's talk about the future. PUNISHER is THE future. To prove it, I have con-cock-ted a special new poster. See it at http://members.aol.com/k0ny/punished.jpg If you like it, send me all your money and I'll print you a copy. K? Thanks.

Not unless they all had pacemakers. Anyhow, I had to take the first Matrix with a huge grain of suspension of disbelief salt, (humans enslaved for the generation of HEAT? where's the energy for that coming from if the sun is blocked out? why not just use mice? or why not lobotomize the humans? humans as computing nodes would have explained away these questions.) and I'll need that for this one, too...so long as there aren't any midichlorians, I think I can survive it.

The whole idea behind the movies is just plain dumb. If Neo can do all these great things, why does he need to fight at all w/ hands???? If bullets can kill you in the Matrix, you would think these idiots would wear bullet-proof vests when they enter the program. Lets face it..the stupid brothers who everyone thinks are some sort of geniuses wanted to make a film about kungfu..they made up this trash heap of a story so they could showcase all the latest wire fighting techniques and all the latest kung fu moves...problem is we've already seen that crap a gazillion times before
booorrriinngggg

In retrospect that scene in the first film where Neo and Trinity storm the building to save Morpheus is sad. If these people can bring in all sorts of weapons into the Matrix and even bend some of the physical laws of the program you would think they would have some compassion for those guards or other people. Those guards dont know whats up. They have no clue what the Matrix is so they rightfully do their job and defend the building. Couldnt they use some stun gun or something? If they can violate some laws of physics in the Matrix and can arm themselves w/ weapons of choice, they cant carry any non-lethal devices?

I agree with Harry. The more I think about all the ideas that could have been used in the Matrix this time, the more of a waste it seems. Example: the AI uses human brains as massive parallel processing systems, complete with all the neurological chaos a jazzed-up brain could create. They hinted at some sort of feedback between humans on the ship and the Matrix, I thought plugging into the Matrix and finding yourself caught in someone's psychotic delusions, with no way out, would have been the next AI logical step for dealing with Neo. Dan Simmons uses it in 'Hyperion', so I didn't invent it. But the Wachowski's don't know diddly about the real revolution happening in computers (massively parallel organically-based) so I'm not surprised they missed it.

Bush as the most evil man in history? WTF? Maybe there's a context there that will let it make sense but on the surface it just sounds like Bush-bashing. If that's the case then maybe I shouldn't support this film with my money. Of course, they probably did that just to be controversial, therefore more publicity, therefore more interest generated, but if they want to make a stupid statement like that then my reply is "You can't have my money."

I wonder if Harry would have liked it better if he had watched it with us this morning, because we didn't agree with some of his rants. The big ones are that Neo couldn't take apart the programs because they had been upgraded - which he mentioned the very first time he fought an agent. And it wasn't Zion that was destroyed, it was the sneak attack squad that was supposed to ambush the diggers. That's why the diggers kept digging once they had decimated the ships and all but one survivor. Zion is still about 9 hours away.

I know there is a lot of bias about this movie - so let me start by saying I'm not a Matrix freak, but after being disappointed by X2, I was definitely ready to enjoy the first great summer flick. Sadly, this was not it. While I

so, i saw it, finally, four years, and, it was worth it. see, its on at 10 tonite, and it got to my movie theater at 6 this morning, and our boss hooked it up and the staff watched it, my god did it kick ass, i mean fuck what an awesome show, i must admit though, it lacked a bit of story, and the first part was boring, but then came neo, i mean neo kicks so much ass its not funny, see, i was reading all the reviews, i was so scared i was piss'n my pants, iam not going to give you any spoilers, you must watch this kick ass show your self. it was so awesome, iam going to see again tommorow while i tell people to sit the hell down. but, i mean, i was so scared, iam not suprised if this will be the best film of the year. but, if you are going in to see more story, you might be a tad bit dissapointed, there are some scenes where your like "holy shit..really?" and then others your like yawn.... but then the fight scenes.. holy fuck, then the car chase, that kicks major ass. but i do admit joe silver should shut the fuck up about raising the godamn bar, what the fuck was he smoking. and fuck warner brothers with that gay-ass spoiler issue.

It's weird that all you talkbackers who haven't seen the movie are so quick to say that Harry is wrong. To quote Baron Munchausen, "Vas you dere, Charlie?" You don't know what you're talking about. Until you see the movie, you can be excited about it, but you don't know if it is good or not. And yes, you may disagree with Harry. I certainly do, about a great many things. But the guy has a well thought out beef with the movie, and I a) applaud him voicing a certainly unpopular opinion, and b) am grateful for the analysis. I haven't seen the movie either, but I do know that my hopes and expectations were much the same as Harry's. To me, the promise of the sequels were not kick ass action or stylish characters. I took that as pretty much a given. I was hoping that they would take everything we'd seen before and turn it on its ear. I was hoping for more plot twists, more mind fucks, more insight into the nature of how the "real" world and the matrix interact, and most importantly, more of how Neo (anagram of "One", BTW) uses his new awareness to rewrite the Matrix from within. BUT, it sounds like that is not the movie that was made. Perhaps I will enjoy Reloaded for what it is, but I do know, after reading Harry's article, that what I was hoping for is definitely not what I will see. And I'm glad I found that out. Sets my expectations appropriately. Hey, I may end up disagreeing with Harry on the overall affect of the film, but I can't sit here and say that he's wrong without having seen it myself. And neither can any of you. And if you have seen it and still disagree with Harry, I would hope that your rebuttle rises above the level of simple contradiction and sophomoric name calling, but I've seen these talkbacks before so I'm not holding my breath.

Grant it I haven't seen the movie yet, I am going tonight to check it out. But the way this movie has been hyped up, I don't think it every really had a chance to meet expectations. Joel Silver's constant spouting about breaking the limits seems to be a little hollow right now. I think I will enjoy the movie because I tempered my enthusiasm a little bit. I guess nobody will really know one way or the other until we see it.

I am glad I got to see it for free.
Talk about a clunker. As fresh and groundbraking as the first one was, this one is stale and redundant.
Every not-so-special effect has been seen 100 times.
And there are parts that drag on and on and on and on and .....
I found myself going from "WOW!!" to "Quit the jibba jabba and ge to punchin'" to finally wondering if it was going to be over soon.
And hte bad news is, it is not really over, merely a few months of intermission until the final installment is released.

...you can read every review of the movie you want, but at the end of the day, it's YOUR opinion that counts the most. That said, I'm looking forward to the movie. I'm prepared to be a little let down, but I don't think it'll be as bad as some of these money-makin' playa-hatin' TalkBackers are saying. And personally, I think that when the trilogy's released on DVD, it should come with a bonus fourth disc with a W-Brothers Q&A style interview (along the lines of An Evening With Kevin Smith) where they walk the less-intelligent/highly-confused viewers through the finer points of the Matrix; it could only help them enjoy it more in my opinion. And Weaving, you da bomb in "Babe," yo!

Just saw the Matrix and thought it was a cool ride. Nothing deep. Just enjoyable new Kung Fu. Liked to see a full spectrum of humanity in a cast for once. Stayed after the titles for the preview of next installment: Lots of rain... my favorite effect in scifi.

Its 1 in the morning.. Just got back from Reloaded.. Im tired.. Want to go bed.. But Im so pissed off by Harrys negative review of this movie that I had to write something..
RELOADED IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME!!
Ive come to the conclusion that there are on two options for a man who loved Phantom Menace and Clones and hated this, either he has the intellect of a steamy pile of shit oooor HES IS ON THE TAKE!.. Im convinced Harry is George Lucas' little tool.. The Wachojfoiej (whatever) Brothers wouldnt pay him off so he gave it a crappy review..
FROM NOW ON DONT BELIEVE A WORD HARRY SAYS! HES A CORPORATE TOOL! I feel like picketing, or boycotting, or somethin..

Long time reader, first talkback. Even to the fanboy who just goes to movies to be wowed by the magical secrets of filmdom, this is seriously sad. I gonna watch a second time to make sure i was on drugs or something. Maybe this was just a previous version of the matrix with an even older version of THE ONE. that explains it.

SPOILERS : For a split second, I thought it was true too. Zion was destroyed, and we didn't even see it. Wrong. Neo said they still have 24 hours, and the attack the captain is talking about sounds more like a small ambush. The fight in Zion is in the next movie! The Revolutions trailer shows this! PLEASE. If you are going to review a movie, pay attention dude! Otherwise, BADASS movie, a faithful installment, and we're just getting warmed up! I can't believe it!

i just got back from the 10pm show, and i have to say harry, you completly missed the mark on this one, trying paying attention to the movie before you write out a review i hate you so much, ranting about vampires and werewolfs and stupid crap that was merely discussed as a deletion of the programs in the matrix
other than harry's POV i have to say im very pleased with what i saw, was reloaded better than the 1st movie, no, but you know the rush, and ear to ear smile inducing satisfaction you got with the first movie, its like that with me. so go in on thursday screw all the hype, and any negative reviews, and make your own opinion.
the dialogue wasn't that bad, they talked like normal people would in the situations given , but the deilvery of said lines were what made the movie
kinda like swarzenneggers lines in his movies, yeah the lines are kinda cheesy, but the delivery was what makes them great.
comparing dialogue to the drivel [George]Lucas makes up is very harsh.
another thing i liked about reloaded was that i actually cared about the story in between each action sequence
***.5/*****

The first 40 minutes of this film were utterly diasapointing. After reading Harry's negative review I was hopin the movie would prove him wrong. It usually does. Ie. DareDev gets good review, movie sucks, Reloaded gets bashed...but it sucks. ok it doesnt suck. it just didnt do much for me, I found myself bored at times wondering why am I here...Not why am I here in the philosophical sense..but why the fuck am I still in the theatre..
I for one will not be @ Revolutions on opening night..BTW the Freddy Vs Jason trailer got more applause then the whole movie..and WTF is the Return of The King Trailer?? Is it on t3 or Hulk? I thought it was on this

Movie should have started about 5 minutes before the fight scene with the all the agent smiths. I am not the director or editor..but cmon those zion scenes DRAG!
I think it was good..just a lot of scenes needed to be cut..... almost all of the zion scenes and the 4 minute rave scene which sucks.
I thought I was watching a directors cut dvd with a bunch of "extra deleted" scenes.

i must admit when i read your review i was scared, yup scared. A funny thing happened on the way to the theatre, i lowered my ecpectations, as the movie began with trinity's splashy entrance, on the big screen, i became happier then a pig in shit, but wait, i should not like this, harry said this movie has no courage, ok, i throttled my happiness. Zion, ok i guess i should take a nap harry said morpheous speach sucks, ok, wait a second, whats that, am i being inspired? can't be, harry said it sucks, nona gaye, i will quit my job right now to stay home with you, you convinced me. Did neo forget his lessons? hell no! why is smith old territory, the whole scope of his character is different...he is different! mr. smith is making plans now, not implmenting others plans, oh but wait, i forgot the Wachowski

Spoilers
I believe harry missed something very important at the beginning of the movie that would explain the loss of some of his powers. Harry keeps complaining about the kung fu scenes and wondering why Neo doesn

Sorry Harry, but you are really fucking stupid, and I no longer accept your opinion as anything other than a bullshit-snazzy-analysis of your own narrow and focused views. I have lost ALL respect for you after reading your review... the reason I say this is because I, too, saw Reloaded, only I just got back in from it and I still have it fresh on my mind. Your review of Reloaded is nothing more than YOUR expectations of what it should have been (in your own vision of it) and I think any man who praises Blade 2 as some orgiastic work of bona fide art but yet notes disappointment at the Matrix Reloaded either has his head on crooked or is on drugs. In your case, it may be both for all we know.
Moreso to the point, Blade 2 was a fine movie on its own merits, but your review of it was grovelling to Robert Rodriguez in the worst way, and I guess since Mr. & Mr. Wachowski didn't throw themselves upon your blessed feet and maybe the WB hasn't jumped through hoops to stroke your tiny, insignificant... um, hand... well, it just goes to show that you are as commercially sold out as any musician that sits in the Billboard Top Ten.
On to The Matrix Reloaded... I saw it, I loved it, I geeked out on it, I left my jaw on the floor and didn't bother trying to pick it up. It is as worthy a sequel as Empire was to New Hope, as X2 was to X-Men, and... well, those are the only really good occasions where a sequel was better than the original in my book. You want more spirituality? It has it. You want the finest action sequences ever seen on the silver screen? It has it. You want top-notch special effects? It has it. You want great characters and great actors to play them? It has it. You want comic relief when the going gets so tough it's almost unbearable? It has it. You want to be surprised at every moment? Has that, too.
I'm sorry, but Reloaded is fucking brilliant. It's beautiful. It's wonderful. It's a six-star movie on a one to five scale. It's going to make you say "What the FUCK?" just like you did when you saw its predecessor. It's going to leave you wanting more, just like the first one did. It compels you to fall in love with everything about it -- it's a testament to the human soul, a catalogue of every wonder known to man, a spiritual boost that will leave you wanting moremoremore. In that last sense, it's a drug, and it's the best goddamn feeling you will have this summer.
I don't want to delve into spoiler territory, so I'll leave it at that for now. Harry, you owe us an apology for how very wrong your review is, and I think once all of us fanboys see it for ourselves, you will see that wrong you've done to yourself and to your frequent visitors. I'm taking the day off tomorrow and I have already purchased tickets to see it thrice more tomorrow -- yes, I want to soak up more of it, and yes I need another fix of it... I'm thirsty, and Reloaded quenches it, one screening at a time.
Also, Revolutions looks like it's going to kick some serious ass as well -- that trailer after the credits roll (and roll, and roll, and roll... ad infinitum) makes me wish November came before June... because I need closure to the spectacle I witnessed tonight.
THE MATRIX RELOADED IS THE SHIZNIT, THE BOMB, THE GODDAMN BEST THING SINCE THE SEGWAY, WHICH WAS THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD.
SEE IT, BUT BUCKLE UP -- IT'S A HELL OF A RIDE!

i think harry should stop thinking to himself so much when watching a movie and let the movie guide HIM. All he seems to be doing in this review is comparing the matrix to his own expectations, and when the wachowski's dont meet them he flips out.
Harry says that he expected MONSTERS and GHOSTS and VAMPIRES to appear in the matrix world due to the oracle's explanation, and when he didnt get them he called the movie stupid and boring.
When Neo didn't turn out to be the ultimate zen master like he thought he would be, he said the script was badly written. Blah Blah Blah, Blah de fucking blah.
Harry, learn to write an objective review and spare me your pointless blubbering. Learn to consider a movie based on its own merits instead of constantly comparing the movie to your own built-up expectations.

Harry went in with VERY SPECIFIC expectations, based on the line that concluded The Matrix. He was so focused (fuckassed?) on this preconception of what Reloaded should be in his opinion, he missed the fucking show. If you snooze you loose Harry. Go watch it again to catch what you missed. Our sold-out show at Loews Fountains in Houston rocked out with applause several times as well. Highly entertaining movie and you dont have to check your brain at the door. Well....the rave/Zion stuff was kind of boring but visually is eye candy, and it passes quickly. Love and peace to all!

Every critic who has reviewed this film under the influence of flawed perspective have given a GREAT, GREAT movie a bad review - for the simple reason that they built the movie up in their minds too much. Or, to be more accurate, they built it up wrongly. They didn't WATCH IT. They simply thought about how it should be, and reacted when they saw it - as people do who don't take a movie for what it is. The movie? Great. Stunning. And entertaining as all hell. The story is act two of three, and should be taken as such. There are some flaws, as there are in every movie

Wake up people and pay attention--Because Harry obviously wasnt
---spoilers----
At the end of the movie, zion is NOT destroyed but Captain Lock's little preemptive strike was. All because of Agent Smith setting off the EMP too early. But Zion will fall in 24 hours unless Neo can stop it. But he is now in a coma after using he's power to stop the machines. But how did he sense the machines and use his power to stop them when he is OUTSIDE the matrix?--because he is not outside. He never was. No one is. EVERYONE IS STILL PLUGGED IN. The "real world" is just an illusion, another extension of the grand program. EVERYONE, all the lead characters, are ALL still apart of the matrix. Still plugged in and feeding the machines power. Which is why Agent smith--a friggin computer program, was able to take over that guy and enter the "real world" because the "real world" is apart of the matrix. The Architect tells Neo he has done all this before and that Zion has fallen 5 times before, only to be rebuilt. You can't conquer Zion and rebuild it 5 times unless its a computer program that is just RELOADED and started again. Neo has walked the path of "The One" 5 times before. The Neo's on the computer screens were the recorded reactions of the other Neo's who all also found the source. Everything in the first film is a lie--an illusion--there is no "real world" EVERYTHING you see in the entire first film is THE MATRIX. The matrix has you, it has everyone, including NEO. Everyone is still plugged in and dreaming the machines little dream. Believe it. Yes, indeed this movie kickass!
Oh and for the record Harry, come on--Neo fighting Vampires and werewolves--that's ridiculously stupid. The matrix gives the illusion of the real world--oh but wait--lets have Neo fight werewolves and vampires too--cause their from the real world right? why not just throw in a fight with bigfoot, the lochness monster, some leprechauns, and santa claus and call it day.

I normally wouldn't post on this mess of flames, but I thought I'd make a contribution.
SPOILERS
Uncle Sam, I think you're mostly right. However, the story is not as hopeless and detached as you make it seem.
Yes, the real world as we see it at the end of Reloaded is part of the Matrix. There are two possibilities.
1) When Morpheus left the Matrix through the door just before Neo went to meet the Architect, he actually entered a fake real world simulation program.
However, I think that's unlikely. It's far more likely that:
2) Neo realized when he stopped the sentinels the same thing that he realized that gave him in the first movie. He realized that there is no spoon. Or in this case, there were no sentinels. The real world is indeed part of the Matrix. However, Neo has, through human choice (that unpredictable factor that has perplexed the machines so much), broken the cycle. He has made the realization that the real world does not exist and has learned to bend the rules there.
This does mean, however, that there is a REAL real world. The "real world" as we see it, that includes Zion, was created to account for the 1% of human minds that rejecting the Matrix. It satisfied their desire for something more. However, they were still deceived. Neo will free their minds, this time with no need for a false prophecy, bring down the system, and reveal the REAL world, not the fake simulated one, as he frees mankind at the end of Revolutions.

I think the real world is actually very real. Agent Smith was able to come into the real world because just like all other programs a human's mind is a program running in the matrix. Smith basically hacked a human's mind and then uploaded back into its body. The Architect did not tell Neo that he had walked the path of the one before, he tells him there have been five "anomalies" before him. Five seperate people. Which leads me to my next theory. I think that both frenchy (can't remember his name) and the oracle's bodyguard were "The One" and after completing the cycle are living in the matrix. This is why frenchy is able to see in "Matrix Vision" like Neo and why the bodyguard was glowing in "Matrix Vision" and could hold his own fighting Neo. These anomalies are the key to what makes the matrix work. The machines cannot create a matrix that will be completely flawless, so they come as close as they can, and "The One" is just the final piece of the puzzle. That is why he is to select 23 people. These people will be programmed to think they are free and unplugged, sent out to rebuild and repopulate Zion to start the cycle all over again. I think Neo is able to stop the sentinels because he is the first of the anomalies to choose not to complete the cycle. He says that he can "feel" the sentinels. I think because he is the one and because of the path he has chosen Neo has some sort of connection to the machines. What I don't get is how Smith survived the attack on Zion. If he is human he should have been wiped out with the rest.

This is one sequel (or two if you count Revolutions) that had me saying why? Everyone preaches on about the depth of the Matrix and blah blah blah. It was made to showcase bullet time, wire fu and cool effects. Just because it had an interesting story wrapped around it doesn't make it any deeper than an episode of G-Force. What it did allow was for the offspring of Tron fans to stick a computer power jack into their ass and try to become one with the Matrix much like Tron fans tried climbing into their computers when they first saw that film (myself included). Matrix was a fun film but it was basically wrapped up at the end. The fact that they had to dumb down Neo's powers in this one to stretch the franchise out to make it to number 3 should tell you something.

Sounds like someone wanted to be co-writer/director and didn't get invited to the set. Harry and everyone else needs to realize that we're passengers on this Wachowski fun ride. You are right about the celebration scene - that was useless - and that's about all you're right about. You can say that many (most) fight scenes in movies don't add to the story. In this movie they just reaffirm that Neo can kick ass - in this case a LOT of ass. Were there too many fight scenes? Who's to say? The scene with The Architect was very good - I didn't see any clips of Bush - maybe Clinton was there too. Everyone in the theatre I was in in Los Angeles was riveted by the story. While it may not live up to the hype (what could?) it is a spectacular 2nd intstallment. Can't wait for the Revolution.

Just got out of the movie. The overwhelming reality of the situation is that is was, without question, one of the best movies I have ever seen. Incredible. So good that it got me thinking, why the negative reviews. What is up with Harry's review.
Minor spoilers ahead so beware. Looking at the makeup of my theater, it was mostly punk ass kids. The last 30 minutes of the movie is very deep and complex on a philosophical level. The bottom line is that most of these type people just aren't going to get it, and maybe Harry had difficulty with the meaning. Why I say this is based on some quotes in his review. Why the basic kung-fu. Why can't Neo free the people like in his speech at the end of the Matrix. Why? Because the Matrix is not what everyone believed it to be. It was not 1000 years in the future, it may have been 1,000,000 years in the future and has been manipulating reality for centuries. Maybe the people that did not like it want their answers spoon fed to them in movies. This movie does not spoon feed shit. There is no spoon. But remember people, it is still just a kung-fu movie at heart. It's like people wanting character development and emotion in Planet of the Apes. That is a movie about fucking talking monkeys. Watch it and enjoy it, just realize that if you flunked college philosophy, you might have trouble with certain concepts such as the nature of God, the complexity of mathematics, etc., and maybe people just don't want that in their kung-fu movie. I thought it rocked.
There could be another reason, or an aggravating factor, if you will. I refuse to watch any previews or read reviews of any kind prior to watching a film. Harry does not. It could be that some set pieces or scenes lacked the element of surprise. It could also be the playa-hata syndrome: it is cool to hate what is cool. I don't know. The final point is this: if you like smart action films and enjoyed the first Matrix, you will love this movie; just don't check your I.Q. at the door.

If that was one of the best movies you have ever seen you need to start watching more movies. I can't believe how many people have said this in the past 24 hours only to be in disagreement with what others have been saying about the film. I'm going to start a running count now of how many people use the word "philosophical" in their review. This is getting WAY out of hand. I love it when people think they have "gotten" something out of the film the rest of the pea brains didn't. Some kind of magical understanding about what the Matrix really is. LOL...what a bunch of horseshit.

RRRRR.. I hate filmmaker wannabees...harry's one of them.
I'm going to hire a hitman to shoot this bloated fat son of a beich. SOLARIS is incredible but MATRIX RELOADED is crap? You ungrateful pig. Harry probably did what a lot of brainless morons did at the theatre when they didn't understand what the hell the architect was talking about... "Duuu, I duuu, don't understand, duuu, I have fat in my skull, big lumps of fat, duuu, uhh, i'm angry because I'm stupid and didn't understand it. Duu, I'm giving it a bad review."

Sorry, I understand your beef with the Matrix, but I feel that a lot of people (especially the ones that seem to post their reviews here) had their expectations WAY too high for this movie. Obviously you need to go into the movie with some expectations of quality, but at some point, you have to ask yourself if you're really judging this film on it's qualities or on those of past films. I mean, you gave a much more positive review for Daredevil, and as much as I ADORE Jennifer Garner, that movie was a piece of roasting rat feces. Let's not even get started with Star Wars I & II. Made Daredevil look like Schindler's List.
Personally, I thought Reloaded was pretty damn good. I enjoyed the first movie of the trilogy the most, but Reloaded was more than just a good movie. I think the reason I enjoyed it more than others was because I didn't go into the theatre saying "well, they have to make it bigger and better than the matrix" and spend the whole time comparing it to the first movie, I just sat back and enjoyed it on it's merits.
And yeah, the cake scene? Worse scene ever. Made me want to woof my cookies. Wasn't interesting or entertaining, just kind of irritating. Felt like it was stuck in there to get someone's rocks off.

I can't believe-- what in the hell were you expecting? For Neo to unleash his new Frankenstein strangle technique on the monsters? If you have a problem with kung fu, what the fuck were you doing in that theatre in the first place!? The fight against the smiths? MAGIC! Every bit as relevant as Morpheus VS Neo of part 1.
You're just let down because you walked into this one knowing what the matrix is! It's not as if they're going to be like "No dudes, the matrix is the real world!! The real world is REALLY THE MATRIX!! DOESN'T THAT BLOW YOUR MIND???"
Get a life and just enjoy the fucking movie.

Why are people so blind to actually admit that the movie wasn't as good as promised. SW fanboys are the same way. I'm not dressing as any of the characters mind you but I consider myself a big fan.
I came in with the idea that iwas going to be terrible so I could walk away with a smile but I'm now opening up a 900 line because I can see the furture.
The characters are making no sense. The relationship between Neo and Trin comes off liek an Fuck fest, the inhabitants of Zion are a bunch of ravers. and Neo is quickly bounded by the rules she broke in part one, again.
The arguement of how this "isn't the complete story" is somethign I heard a bunch of fanboys say to me and I just said "Star Wars: A New hope" A separate complete story that stood well and that was actually in the middle of a complete plot. This Matrix did not build on the last one, it was just not there. Something was lacking and it had nothing to do with EFFECTS I LOVE THE MATRIX BECAUSE OF THE STORY FUCK BULLET TIME. This had tons o "efx" and it couldn't save it.
Harry made a good call, even some SW fans admit that episode 1 sucked and 2 was ok.

At the end of the movie, the Architect mentions the "Mother of The Matrix" and scoffs at the suggestion by Neo that it is the Oracle. Who, then, is he talking about???
Also, when Neo stops the Centennials in "The Real World" , I figured there were 2 possibilites, 1) Neo is indeed a Messiah-like figure as he has now shown supernatural powers in the real world, or 2) "The "Real World" / Zion is simply another program in The Matrix.

I can't think of one better. I love the Wach. Bros. because of their fine attention to detail. Notice the unprecedented camera work (well actually it was prob. computer generated), but anyway, one of the most impressive nuances was the way the trucks ran right over the camera that would have been filming the action. What I mean is that the angle at which the action was caught could have only been done by the truck literally running through/over the camera. Good stuff!!!

I've read your reviews and I disagree with most of it. I loved the Matrix Reloaded, but then again it's a matter of taste up to a large extent.
But you obviously misunderstood or forgot a lot about The Matrix and you probably don't play a lot of videogames.
I've read your reviews and I disagree with most of it. I loved the Matrix reloaded, but then again it's a matter of taste up to a large extent.
But you obviously misunderstood or forgot a lot about The Matrix and this is because you probably don't play a lot of videogames and know either too much or absolutely nothing about computer programming. To bad, because for as far as entertainment goes, this film is pretty clever. It has a hell of lot more stuff to think about, than "2001 a space oddity" for example.
I've read your reviews and I disagree with most of it. I loved the Matrix reloaded, but then again it's a matter of taste up to a large extent.
But appart form some knit picking about vampires and werewolves (What where the Twins if not super natural and original?) you obviously misunderstood or forgot a lot about The Matrix and you missed even more from Reloaded. I figure this is because you probably don't play a lot of videogames and know either too much or absolutely nothing about computer programming.
To bad for you, because for as far as entertainment goes, this film is pretty clever. It has a hell of lot more stuff to think about, than "2001 a space odycey" for example.
If I where you, I'd go and watch Reloaded at least several more times before you write anything else and make more of fool of yourself. For everybody else, just go watch the movie and ignore reviewers, especially the ones that think they're smart, but really aren't.
------- Major Spoiler -----------
Oh and by the way, Zion isn't destroyed, yet. It's the counter attack that failed.

I've read your reviews and I disagree with most of it. I loved the Matrix Reloaded, but then again it's a matter of taste up to a large extent. But appart from some knit picking about vampires and werewolves (What where the Twins if not super natural and original?) you obviously misunderstood or forgot a lot about The Matrix and you missed even more from Reloaded. I figure this is because you probably don't play a lot of videogames and know either too much or absolutely nothing about computer programming. To bad for you, because for as far as entertainment goes, this film is pretty clever. It has a hell of lot more stuff to think about, than "2001 a space odycey" for example. If I where you, I'd go and watch Reloaded at least several more times before you write anything else and make more of fool of yourself. For everybody else, just go watch the movie and ignore reviewers, especially the ones that think they're smart, but really aren't.
------- Major Spoiler -----------
Oh and by the way, Zion isn't destroyed, yet. It's the counter attack that failed.

It seems to me after reading some other users' reviews that they expected the Matrix-Reloaded to be a run-of-the mill sequel like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. While I am a fan of Star Wars and LOTR, they are nothing more than 'formula' films. What people don't realize is that the Wachowski Brothers are creating a new mythology. The Matrix Trilogy is a completely new genre of science fiction. It does employ some concepts that are present in movies like Tron and Terminator, but the storytelling and character development completely pave a new path. The Matrix-Reloaded takes the story to step 2 and really kind of negates the first movie in some ways. That is not a bad thing! The greatest thing a sequel can do is to take you deeper into the story and characters. It makes you even more interested and takes you deeper, instead of rehashing the concept. This movie has more interesting plot development than any sequel I have ever seen. The ending will leave you amazed and maybe a little confused, but it makes you think. This movie is a gorgeous segue to the next movie, which, I will bet, is not the end of the whole Matrix saga. At least, I hope...

I thought when the architect explained to Neo that humans didn't accept the Matrix until the Oracle created the software to give humans the choice to accept it or not was what ultimately made the Matrix work. Within the code is the possibility of what they term anomalies which is basically some mutant code that becomes conscious of it's role in the Matrix and sometimes chooses to stop performing its funtion or even tries to perform other functions. Others who have become free have become self-conscious of their existence as code but Neo as code takes his 'Why?' to the logical conclusion which is why does the source code, the architect, exist? What he discovers is that even this through-line only brings him to the possibility of two choices which he's already faced 5 times in some type of GoTo loop, destroy the Matrix and with it the human race or try to save Zion only to arrive too late but to repopulate it with the 25 humans he takes back with him restarting the loop. As soon as the Architect reveals that Neo has arrived to this exact particular moment in the room with him x5 already by excercising the Oracle's free-will code to it's conclusion, to question all code, I thought it was a glaring PLOTHOLE. This contradicted the whole first movie of Neo actually being a human battery, unless the Matrix was able to clone a Neo as a battery whenever it felt the loop would begin again. I thought that would be a cheat within the boundaries of what the movie had set up until the end. Until Neo destroys those robots that are digging I didn't think of the possibility that the world that Zion exists within is also code built by the Matrix. Maybe that spoon in Zion is from the Matrix. Some codes are able to move back and forth from two different OSs. Whether this whole story is about different types of code trying to win out or about the Matrix trying to fix this loop because it's annoying or maybe even the Matrix on the way to becoming a real reality once it can successfully implement the code for free-will I find the personification of the programming world into this modern, mythical landscape pretty fascinating.

I did not hype myself up for this film primarily to avoid having extremely high expectations. I avoided the articles, the trailers, etc, and wanted to approach the film on its own merits. I liked the first one, it did take me by surprise, but it wasn't the huge cultural event of my life. It was fun, solid sci-fi and was exciting not only in its own right, but in the doors the film opened for the sci-fi genre in general. But this sequel simply let down everything it built up in the first. I almost wish this wasn't a trilogy. The first was was so complete in its mythology, its tone, its presence. This sequel just fails on so many levels. Neo understands the context of the Matrix, yet he still feels the need to physically fight with everyone? Why does he physically try to find the rogue programs when he SEES CODE? What point do Persephone, the Twins, Agent Smith's duplication, the Morpheus love triangle have to do with the story? It felt like a series of set pieces and fight sequences strung together, with no sense of cohesiveness. Persephone kisses Neo...why? Zion is annihilated, yet we don't see any of it? Isn't that the whole point of the films, to protect Zion and the fate of humanity? The action sequences were twice as long as they should have been, they didn't fit in with any aspect of the character's arcs, the pontificating lasted way too long and pulled you out of whatever small momentum the film had gathered to that point, and I found myself smiling, even laughing out loud, at some of the ludicrous dialogue and unoriginal story beats ("Is there no man among us brave enough to venture forth, etc etc"...so the only other chick character stands up, who just happens to be the main love interest between Morpheus and the other dude). I just felt like they had created such a rich universe in the first one, that is they weren't going to use the rules and story arc they worked so hard to introduce in the first, there's no reason to elaborate. It only dilutes the power of the first. X2 at least recognized the faults in the first, improved the character moments, gave more depth to the characters we know and spent time getting to know the new characters, and streamlined the action. Sure, it gets convoluted in places (what comic book or comic book movie doesn't) but at least they stuck to their rules, their universe, and built upon the first, creating a richer experience that hopefully will only improve with each film. Even the Two Towers, which is clearly a middle act in the overall story, used that to its advantage, plunging the viewer into the action, taking a few moments here and there to refresh our memory while still being relevant to the story, and giving us a rich landscape that MADE SENSE and had depth and history and meaning. When new ideas were introduced, they felt like they belonged. The fight sequences actually had story relevence, and the ending provides resolution to the events in the second, while leading into the next series of events in the third. Matrix Reloaded just threw a bunch of ideas on the wall, threw a bunch of money at it all, and saw what stuck. Very disappointing.

Harry was wrong, but that's nothing new.
The CGI did suck during the Neo/Smith fight, but the story itself was very engaging and it was a kick-ass movie.
Very worth the watch and the wait. Can't wait for Revolutions.

You know, Harry, the way this review read, it was like you had already written the movie in your head and you were pissed that the movie didn't follow your script. Frankly, seeing *any* more fight scenes where Neo ripped someone's code apart would have been pretty boring. Who cares. They have a couple of throwaway lines at the beginning about how the agents have upgrades now, and they move on. No problem. Instead of werewolves, they give us dudes who can phase. No problem, I'm down with that. Frankly, I thought the way the movie played with notions of fate and free will, and the implications of the new shit they dropped in the last 20 minutes were far more interesting than if Neo had been pulling new superpowers out of his ass for the whole movie. And I can't wait for the third one to go all eXistenZ on our ass, as this movie is promising.

People who don't like this movie have a low IQ. They don't like it because it's beyond their thinking. That's the truth. If you want to loose a debate, e-mail me about it. You will see truth if you can handle it.

I am like you the biggest Matrix fan out there. The only expectations I had were built on by the first film. I didnt know what to expect but whatever it was I had hoped it would be something akin to the original in creativity and innovation and ideas. Sadly it was a hollowed out parody of itself in computer game format. Not as bad as Blade 2 though. Granted it has its moments and there were some things I liked in it but overall disappointing for the potential it did not live up to, whatever it couldve been.

Actually, I agree with Harry. I still enjoyed the movie, but I wasn't too impressed(I was impressed with the action). In my opinion I think it went from AMAZING Movie of The Matrix, to GOOD movie of Reloaded.
I liked the fact that Neo wasn't sure what he was doing because he didn't understand his purpose in the beginning(which changed later), but I agreed with Harry: why Neo didn't just rip the Agents apart instead of fighting them with Kung Fu? Yes it is boring but going back to lower level of combat is just out of his character. So in many ways, all the cool stuff(and they're super cool) are just there for the sake of being cool. Rather than being a tool to tell a story like in the first Matrix.
And just the fact that people keep throwing Kung Fu at Neo is kinda dumb. Because we KNOW already Neo will never lose, he is never in real danger in that kind of combat situation... all the fights are just there to take up time and again, look cool. and actually after a while, it was getting kind of repetetive because it was all Neo fighting(since nobody else can go up against Agents), so it was all "Neo style" fighting. kinda stiff.
and I think the music sucks in this one... I was actually annoyed.

I'll make this short. First Mr.Knowles, I find that you have not freed your mind. You take things literally. You choose to understand things as they are fed to you. To the point, what is this film about? It is about power/control and the fight to take it back. The human race is the slave/host to a master/parasite. Ask yourself this, how do you control one human? How do you control many? How do you control all? Answer you control their reality. Easy? Wrong. In essence the entity in control over the human race is a "Program". What is a program? A series of mathematical based instructions that carry out an action. This "Program" has computed that it can exist more efficiently with humans as it's slave rather than coexisting or existing without them(The film has not revealed why, but there is an excellent clue that I'll let you figure out, pay close attention.) This program has created a reality for humans to be controlled in based on a mathematical system. A system as it its self is based. A perfect system. Wrong again. Math is not perfect. The Chaos Theory. There will be an anomaly. One human that cannot be controlled in the system. One human that becomes aware it is being used and has the ability to threaten and take back control for Humanity. The "Program" becomes aware of this fact and computes another system to deal with future anomalies. We are at the sixth human who has achieved this, what makes Neo's story worth telling? It is that he is the anomaly of the anomalies. He has done something different from his predecessors. Something that will free and return control not to the old humanity that is bound by its old limits but by a new one with a new reality. But what has he done differently? Again pay attention. The true beauty of this film is that is so deep on so many levels. Each scene has underlying meaning. Most of all it makes you question your own reality. Am I in control or am I just part of the Matrix? Free Your Mind.

First up, her name is Trinity ie Holy Trinity, ie GOD and female. The Arcitect says the Oracle is not the "Mother", the Oracle is just a guide as Morpheous first stated. To become the "one" Neo had to come back to life after dying in the first film to become the "One"; who did that ? None other than Trinity when she kissed him. She is investigating human emotion ect through Neo. This is why the Arcitect tells Neo he can't save her: If he enters the Source door Trinity's character dies, if he enters the Matrix door he saves the character only to end up killing her by causing the downfall of the Matrix which Trinity being a program/AI is connected to. Persephone wants the kiss from Neo as she wants to feel and experence what a God/Trinity does.

first of all, saying that rotten tomatoes gave it a bad rating is untrue. the website shows a collection of different ratings and they varied from some that were, admittedly, bad to those that said it was good. the overall average rating was 7/10, which i would like to mention, is the same rating that X2 got. speaking of X2, i firmly believe that as good a website as AICN is, Harry's opinion simply cannot be trusted in terms of comic book movies. his mind is still stuck in the "OH MY GOD I CANT BELIEVE IM SEEING MY FAV CHARACTER KICK ASS ON THE BIG SCREEN!!", that he fails to get an objective point of view on the movies. daredevil is a case in point, cuz frankly the movie sucked. spideman was good, but not as good as Harry claims, and the same goes for X2. im not saying these movies are bad (i know some comic geek is drubbing up a furious reply rite now), they were good, just not as good as Harry said. atleast not to someone who does not read comic books, like me. and dont gimme any crap abt how i cant appreciate the movies cuz i dont read the comic, cuz im sure the directors arent dumb enuff to make a movie from the point of view that only if a person is familiar with the comics will he like the movie. as far as Reloaded goes, i agree with Moriarty. Harry simply had misconceptions about the movie and what HE thought it SHOULD be, and in the end he ended up sounding less like a movie critic than a fan who was upset cuz it wasnt made the way HE wanted it to, as opposed to whether it was actually good or not. i still haven't seen it yet (its not releasing in my parts until 28th), but im willing to bet i won't be nearly as bad as Harry claims. infact, i will write back once i have seen it, and will let u know whether harry was rite or not...

I think Harry's first review is accurate. However, this is the second film of a trilogy.
Spoiler
I also agree with the people who believe the 'Real World', the One, the prophecies and Zion are lies. They are actually a computer simulation that contains another computer simulation called 'The Matrix.'
The Clues
The Wachowski brothers never repeat a scene. You see several scenes in prophetic dreams, but then they don't show the whole scene again later. _The Matrix_ was the story of The One. Each One must choose between Zion -- which serves the Machines purposes -- or Trinity. The Machines have destroyed seven Zion's and thus seven Trinities (Ed Note: Check the number on next viewing). The Architect even says, "I designed the prefect Matrix, and it failed" "An outside source came to me and showed me the solution." Neo says "The outside source was the Oracle." The solution was choice. The Matrix or Zion are the two choices. Live a comfortable slave to the machines like Cypher or a free distopia like Lock and Morpheous. "You may select 11 men and 12 women to restart Zion, or kill billions of people" (Ed Note: check numbers on second viewing). The Oracle even tells Neo that she is a control and a program, but does he trust her (Ed Note: Someone mentioned here that Neo is a program just like the Oracle -- "Your code must be returned to the Matrix" -- but what about the chemicals the Architect mentions?). The Merovingian says Neo is just following orders. Then the Merovingian shows Neo how lust is just a chemical reaction. The lady who ate the 'climax cake' doesn't know why she had a climax, just that she did. The Architect forcing the One to select the entire human race over Trinity breaks the One and unconsciously all the humans in that generation. New humans replace that broken generation, eventually they want their own chance to be free, so another One is created. The Architect even mentions the chemicals of Neo's love for Trinity. Implying that Neo must rise about his own lust and choose billions of humans, not Trinity. The Oracle, referring to saving Trinity or letting her die, tells Neo "You have already made the choice, the question is Why?". "You cannot see past your decision until you know why you made it" The Oracle also says the answer to whether Neo saves Trinity or not is the least important question. The Merovingian also says the most important answer is "Why?"
Morpheous' speech in _The Matrix Reloaded_ says he does not believe in coincidence. In the first movie, Cypher is about to kill Neo and says how can he be the One if he is dead, a miracle would have to save him. A miracle in the form of a living Tank kills Cypher and saves Neo (Ed Note: supposedly the actor who plays Tank had a falling out with the Wachowski brothers and did not return). Three years later, the Oracle says they have just found the location of the Keymaker, just as Zion is under attack. When Lock says one ship might not find the Nebuchadnezzar, the female Councilor asks for two captains. There are three missions that must be carried out at the same time, and three captains (also a reference to the Trinity or the Three Wise Men?) The catwalk on the hovercraft fails just in time to kill the operator and pilot and prevent the hovercraft from avoiding the Sentinel bomb. The Sentinel bomb kills the hovercraft crew who deactivate the emergency powerstation forcing Trinity to enter the Matrix to save Neo. The Keymaker says that his purpose is fulfilled after giving Neo the key. Zion loses because an EMP "mysteriously" detonated prematurely during the Sentinel attack. The only survivor is the human with Agent Smith hiding inside (Ed Note: was Zion destroyed or was it only the counter attack? Was the EMP triggered by Agent Smith while the hovercrafts were under power -- hovercraft must be turned off when using EMP -- and thus destroyed the counterattack?).
Morpheous in _The Matrix_ says the One freed the first of them. The Prophecies say when the One comes again, the war against the Machines will end. You find out in _Matrix Revolution_ that is true. The Machines win. Seven times the One has chosen billions of human lives over Trinity. Zion is a control to give humans unconscious choice.
There are 250,000 Sentinels attacking Zion "One Sentinel for each human in Zion." The Councilor talks to Neo and says we need the machines and the machines need us. Programs in the Matrix that choose not to perform their function either are deleted, hide in the Matrix or exiled. Humans who choose not to perform their function are deleted, hide in the Matrix or exiled to Zion. The old programs that hide in the Matrix have super powers like Morpheous ("how many people carry silver bullets in there guns") but not as strong as Neo. The Agent Smith tells Neo "You freed me." "Can't you feel the link between us". Agent Smith can now take over both humans or programs in the Matrix and locate Neo in the Matrix. Neo takes the red pill the Oracle gives him (Ed Note: On second viewing see if Neo eats the candy or just takes it). Just before Agent Smith in Zion can kill Neo, the Kid shows up with a message. An orphan wanted to give Neo a spoon. But inside the Matrix -- in the first movie -- the orphan says "remember, you can't bend the spoon, there is *no* spoon". After choosing Trinity over billions of humans, and the Machine form of Zion, Neo can feel the Sentinels. Neo then stops the Sentinels.
The title of the second movie is _Matrix Reloaded_ and the object of the One is to destroy Zion but save the billions of humans by giving the One the choice between saving his Trinity and saving billions of humans. This is the seventh time the Matrix has been reloaded (mystical significance to the number seven?)
Of course the other solution that fits this equation is the Oracle is a program sent by a god and Neo now has messianic powers in the "Real World" and the fight between man and machines was a test of human free will.
I have my own hopes for "Why?" but there are so many paths the Wachowski brothers can take that I don't have enough clues to be sure which one they choose.
-Cyber Silver Dragon

Harry come on. You said x2 was like the empire strikes back and matrix reloaded was like last action hero. Its more like matrix reloaded is empire strikes back. Remember the matrix was written orginally as a trilogy. That means every thing won't come full circle until the last film. In the first one you were lead to believe the propechy was true, so in the second one we found out the propechy is not totally true. But at the end once neo is out of the matrix and back in the real world he some how stops the sentinels that were pursuing them. So what does that leave for the third film? If neo could do anything he wanted to, like harry wanted him to, this would have been the last movie. Plus if neo could do anything he wanted it would be boring with absolutely no suspense on what will happen next. The first part of the movie is important, it contains the neo's dream of trinity and shows there love. Love and hope are central themes in the movie to show the seperation between the humans and the matrix. The identities in the matrix are programs which have limitations, however humans have no limitations in there will to survive.

Go to rottentomatoes.com and take a look at some of the moronic reviews for the original Matrix such as... "The Matrix is really about filmmaking style rather than context." or "Silly and dense!". How about this one,

Hi,
I have been let down ....let down...let down.
Harry, go see this movie again and revise that review....you let yourself get so caught up in the FX you forgot to pay attention to the story(and yes there was one).
Ultimately, the movie will have the last laugh! This one is gonna be so big....and we will be trying to interpret it for months to come. (at least until the next installment, grin!)
Folks, Moriority's review is more inline than any of the rest! Great movie and worth a second look.

First of all to go to a movie like the matrix and expect the plot to unfold as easy as the first one is very very foolish....
Basically, here is what the Matrix Reloaded is saying... Keanu is pi/infinity ( A calculation that can't be solved... Not even by perfect machines. ) Memory leaks on systems are caused by pi and rounding errors and over time the system will have to reboot to reclaim its memory and start fresh. )... Now Keanu exists inside this memory leak as a virus because in leaked memory a program is not subject to the confines of the normal system because the system can't detect lost memory or it would fix it... )... The Matrix is nested... Zion is another Matrix inside a matrix... The reason for this is because they knew they would never be able to solve the rounding error/virus/"the one" phenomenon... so you work around it... Why work around it because there was one main flaw in the matrix design... They only built one core system... If its unplugged the humans awake/die and the machines die off from no power... So the system can not go down... So when a virus grows and matures to become to much of a burden on the core system... The machines Build another Matrix around the one that is exists... This is continually happening... So in each Matrix parallel there was "the one" in each world... But overtime the virus/the one are improving upon themselves, making themselves more powerfull and interelated ( Oracle )... The more matrix's that are created means that the systems will be pushed beyond their limits at some point... It also means that the more and more viruses will develop at a faster rate... Neo, has figured out that their real world is another matrix... and he now has the rare ability like Smith to move between 2 levels of the matrix.... Where it goes from here who knows.... Just remember... Keanu is a special program a program created by the history of all viruses, built to improve and grow more power upon what it learns... He is the first of his generation... This does not mean that he might not have even a more powerfull sucessor if he breeds as is hinted in the movie... Is there a real Zion somewhere? Are Neo, Morpheus real at all? Who is really in control of what's going on? Answer: Matrix III or even IV if turn out is good.
I don't think Neo is real... Read my earlier post to unlock the secret of the Matrix 2 plot... I believe Trinity is real as is Morpheus... I believe that NEO is a birth of AI within an AI generated system... Except this AI is side effect do to imperfection of all things... I believe in the end if there is a real world Neo will not be in it... He will learn that he is artificial... And in the end the Humans will be saved by the very thing that threatens their existence... And the machines will be destroyed by the very thing they try to keep alive...AI AI has learned to reproduce, and Keanu is one of its offsprings... But he can only learn what he is exposed to so that is why he is human like, because that was the highest form of existence in the Matrix... Until the agents... So like AI he learned and adapted... Awesome brilliant and mind bending...

uh harry didn't even get the facts straight in his review. when the hell did zion get destroyed in the movie? near the end of the movie they confirm that they have 24 hours left before the sentinels reach zion. he got the destruction of zion confused with the destruction of some ships in a pre-emptive attack on some sentinels...something totally different. you should watch the movie again harry, obviously you just saw something totally different.

May 17, 2003, 2:40 p.m. CST

by Rupee88

First of all, I enjoyed Harry's review and agreed with most all of it. I think he did get confused about Zion getting destroyed, because it was the counter-attack that was destroyed (I think). But still a great review. I don't agree with Harry sometimes (like with AOTC), but this time, he is dead on.
Here is my review, for anyone who cares...I just saw Reloaded and it was a bit worse than I expected. The action sequences were generally good, but the story, characters, dialogue, etc were a bore.
My main "criticism" is that they have made the story too human, instead of keeping it more action oriented. They introduced a bunch of new characters, none of which I care about at all. I don't need to see all these little personal moments that are supposed to make you care about the characters and what happens to them. I just want to see a little character development in between kick ass action scenes. And have a decent story too, and some memorable dialogue. But none of this is there for me.
Zion was just about what I expected...nothing more, nothing less...fairly predictable. It was too dark and dreary too and some of the set decoration and matte paintings looked too fake.
The first part of the movie was way boring with all the political shit in Zion. I don't care about that. It reminded me of Star Wars with all their "Trade Federation" crap.
I thought it was dumb that everyone doubted Morpheus and Neo. It seems like everyone would be blown away by what Neo could do from the first movie. But maybe what he can do in the Matrix really doesn't help them that much in the real world..I'm thinking too much here though. Also, it seems like they would have him under guard at all times in the real world where he has no powers (or you don't think he has any). I don't think they would let him wander around and possibly get killed by someone, or trip and fall off a bridge or anything like that.
I think the dilemmas and issues presented in the first film have no elegant solution, and this movie and the 3rd one are just trying find the best way out. It is difficult to see the humans winning the war against the machines when they are already so far behind and so outpowered. So I guess they are taking all these weird turns trying to figure out a way...but it is way too convoluted with the key maker and the back doors and rogue programs, etc. I didn't understand much of this, but unlike in the first movie, I don't have a big desire to figure out exactly the world is constructed.
I don't understand it totally, but it seems like the machine put a "spy" into the real world with that one character. This is too similar to the first movie with Joey Pants...can't they come up with something new?
Ugh...I just thought the movie was a convoluted mess, as far as the story goes. I realize that I don't understand half of what was going on, which is irritating. I would still have to recommend it however becuase of the few cool action scenes...
First, still in the negatives, the "kung-fu" type fighting scenes just did not move me. It was just more of the same from the first film...they didn't turn it up a notch for the most part. I was bored during most of those sequences.
The fight between Neo and all the Agent Smiths was decent, although you could tell too often that some of the guys were not Hugo Weaving, and then of course it got all CGI and looked pretty damn fake. But I can go with that if the action is good. Of course Neo could have just flown away at the start which I thought about at the start, and that ruined some of that for me. I'd give that sequence a 7 out of 10, but it was kind of cool at least.
The whole car/motorcycle part was good and pretty entertaining, though far from brilliant. But at least it had me into the film and paying attention. The fight between Morpheus and one of the Agents on the truck was nice, but not great.
I thought those albino looking dreadlock guys were interesting characters. They were used pretty well, and I thought that was a plus in the film.
The only really great part about the movie (and the main reason I'd have to give it a thumbs up were the following:
The opening scenes of Trinity on the cycle and crashing out the window. That was very stylized and briliantly shot and very cool. Although it seemed like both she and the Agent were bad shots because they couldnt hit each other until that last bullet from the Agent.
The *best* part of the movie for me were the scenes of Morpheus flying. Those totally kicked f**king ass. They were straight out of a comic book. The way he was flying throught the clouds near the start, and then it was totally off the hook near the end when he saved Trinity and he was flying so fast and pulling everything alone with him. That was amazing and very cool and something I haven't seen before. That is how they should do superhero movies with scenes like that where they take it to the limit and don't think so damn small. The whole film "should" have been up to that level, or at least closer. The action scenes could have been larger and more grand, etc.
Some more thoughts:
I think they made Neo too strong and powerful in the first film (even stronger than Superman in the DC comics universe), so they had to try to find ways to make him vulnerable in this film and I don't think it worked that well.
The scene with the Zion people partying and Neo and Trinity having sex just didn't work. I see what they were trying to do with it, but I didn't see the point and I wasn't moved by it in the least. Morpheus's speech was lame too, but most all the dialogue and story and character moments were lame in this film. I won't criticize every scene because it would take too long and serve no purpose.
I don't like the whole turn of the story with the "One" being planned and there were other "One"s in the past. And the prophecy being false. It invalidates too much of the stuff from the first film and seems like backpeddling to me.
When Neo stopped the bullets from all those machine guns, why did he have to do hand to hand combat on all those guys? He could have either made the bullets rip into them, or he should have been able to kill them super easily. But maybe they weren't normal programs, and were more powerful than the Agents. But this wasn't made clear and I doubt if this was the case. Obviously, it was a lame excuse for a fight scene which didn't move me at all.
It is not the Wachowski's fault but the new operator of the Nebuchanezzer was this memorable actor from "The Edge" where he gets eaten by a bear and I couldn't totally believe him in this role. That is not a criticism of the film of course, but an unfortunate drawback for me.
They did indeed show a preview for Revolutions at the end after the credits. You will probably want to stay and watch it because there is little at stake at this point after watching this movie.
Also I never understood Agent Smith's new role in the Matrix world or what his goal is, etc. But again, I don't really care because the movie didn't make me care. It was all just too convoluted for me.
I'm not sure if the projectionist had the movie framed poorly, but during the first third, it seems like the tops of people's heads were chopped off. I'm not sure if they filmed it this way, but if they did, it was stupid and annoying. Maybe it was supposed to be stylized, but it was just crazy. I hope the projectionist just screwed up..I guess I'll find out on the DVD.
Oh well, that is my review. X2 was infinitely better that this film. I can't really criticize the Wachowskis for doing a lazy job...this is probably the flim they wanted to make, but it just doesn't interest me much. I guess I can criticize them for some of the plot holes and inconsistencies, but they weren't really that glaring and I think some of them were probably unavoidable as I said earlier. They just raised the bar too high with the first movie and set up a problem that could not be easily solved with "How can the humans defeat the machines". I think most of the solution was forced into the world of the Matrix with a crowbar.
Well, this movie is making a ton of money and I'm happy about that, because I always like to see a sci-fi movie do well at the box office. It is making money based on the first film of course. It will be interesting to see how Revolutions does compared to this one. I guess I will go see it, but I'm not looking forward to it in the least.
I guess the bottom line is that I give the film a thumbs up, so the few cool action sequences must outweight the other 85% of the film. I am disappointed and feel it could have been so much more, but I guess I can't view the film as a piece of crap or anything like that. But it was disappointing....so very disappointing. :-(

First of all, I enjoyed Harry's review and agreed with most all of it. I think he did get confused about Zion getting destroyed, because it was the counter-attack that was destroyed (I think). But still a great review. I don't agree with Harry sometimes (like with AOTC), but this time, he is dead on.
Here is my review, for anyone who cares...I just saw Reloaded and it was a bit worse than I expected. The action sequences were generally good, but the story, characters, dialogue, etc were a bore.
My main "criticism" is that they have made the story too human, instead of keeping it more action oriented. They introduced a bunch of new characters, none of which I care about at all. I don't need to see all these little personal moments that are supposed to make you care about the characters and what happens to them. I just want to see a little character development in between kick ass action scenes. And have a decent story too, and some memorable dialogue. But none of this is there for me.
Zion was just about what I expected...nothing more, nothing less...fairly predictable. It was too dark and dreary too and some of the set decoration and matte paintings looked too fake.
The first part of the movie was way boring with all the political shit in Zion. I don't care about that. It reminded me of Star Wars with all their "Trade Federation" crap.
I thought it was dumb that everyone doubted Morpheus and Neo. It seems like everyone would be blown away by what Neo could do from the first movie. But maybe what he can do in the Matrix really doesn't help them that much in the real world..I'm thinking too much here though. Also, it seems like they would have him under guard at all times in the real world where he has no powers (or you don't think he has any). I don't think they would let him wander around and possibly get killed by someone, or trip and fall off a bridge or anything like that.
I think the dilemmas and issues presented in the first film have no elegant solution, and this movie and the 3rd one are just trying find the best way out. It is difficult to see the humans winning the war against the machines when they are already so far behind and so outpowered. So I guess they are taking all these weird turns trying to figure out a way...but it is way too convoluted with the key maker and the back doors and rogue programs, etc. I didn't understand much of this, but unlike in the first movie, I don't have a big desire to figure out exactly the world is constructed.
I don't understand it totally, but it seems like the machine put a "spy" into the real world with that one character. This is too similar to the first movie with Joey Pants...can't they come up with something new?
Ugh...I just thought the movie was a convoluted mess, as far as the story goes. I realize that I don't understand half of what was going on, which is irritating. I would still have to recommend it however becuase of the few cool action scenes...
First, still in the negatives, the "kung-fu" type fighting scenes just did not move me. It was just more of the same from the first film...they didn't turn it up a notch for the most part. I was bored during most of those sequences.
The fight between Neo and all the Agent Smiths was decent, although you could tell too often that some of the guys were not Hugo Weaving, and then of course it got all CGI and looked pretty damn fake. But I can go with that if the action is good. Of course Neo could have just flown away at the start which I thought about at the start, and that ruined some of that for me. I'd give that sequence a 7 out of 10, but it was kind of cool at least.
The whole car/motorcycle part was good and pretty entertaining, though far from brilliant. But at least it had me into the film and paying attention. The fight between Morpheus and one of the Agents on the truck was nice, but not great.
I thought those albino looking dreadlock guys were interesting characters. They were used pretty well, and I thought that was a plus in the film.
The only really great part about the movie (and the main reason I'd have to give it a thumbs up were the following:
The opening scenes of Trinity on the cycle and crashing out the window. That was very stylized and briliantly shot and very cool. Although it seemed like both she and the Agent were bad shots because they couldnt hit each other until that last bullet from the Agent.
The *best* part of the movie for me were the scenes of Morpheus flying. Those totally kicked f**king ass. They were straight out of a comic book. The way he was flying throught the clouds near the start, and then it was totally off the hook near the end when he saved Trinity and he was flying so fast and pulling everything alone with him. That was amazing and very cool and something I haven't seen before. That is how they should do superhero movies with scenes like that where they take it to the limit and don't think so damn small. The whole film "should" have been up to that level, or at least closer. The action scenes could have been larger and more grand, etc.
Some more thoughts:
I think they made Neo too strong and powerful in the first film (even stronger than Superman in the DC comics universe), so they had to try to find ways to make him vulnerable in this film and I don't think it worked that well.
The scene with the Zion people partying and Neo and Trinity having sex just didn't work. I see what they were trying to do with it, but I didn't see the point and I wasn't moved by it in the least. Morpheus's speech was lame too, but most all the dialogue and story and character moments were lame in this film. I won't criticize every scene because it would take too long and serve no purpose.
I don't like the whole turn of the story with the "One" being planned and there were other "One"s in the past. And the prophecy being false. It invalidates too much of the stuff from the first film and seems like backpeddling to me.
When Neo stopped the bullets from all those machine guns, why did he have to do hand to hand combat on all those guys? He could have either made the bullets rip into them, or he should have been able to kill them super easily. But maybe they weren't normal programs, and were more powerful than the Agents. But this wasn't made clear and I doubt if this was the case. Obviously, it was a lame excuse for a fight scene which didn't move me at all.
It is not the Wachowski's fault but the new operator of the Nebuchanezzer was this memorable actor from "The Edge" where he gets eaten by a bear and I couldn't totally believe him in this role. That is not a criticism of the film of course, but an unfortunate drawback for me.
They did indeed show a preview for Revolutions at the end after the credits. You will probably want to stay and watch it because there is little at stake at this point after watching this movie.
Also I never understood Agent Smith's new role in the Matrix world or what his goal is, etc. But again, I don't really care because the movie didn't make me care. It was all just too convoluted for me.
I'm not sure if the projectionist had the movie framed poorly, but during the first third, it seems like the tops of people's heads were chopped off. I'm not sure if they filmed it this way, but if they did, it was stupid and annoying. Maybe it was supposed to be stylized, but it was just crazy. I hope the projectionist just screwed up..I guess I'll find out on the DVD.
Oh well, that is my review. X2 was infinitely better that this film. I can't really criticize the Wachowskis for doing a lazy job...this is probably the flim they wanted to make, but it just doesn't interest me much. I guess I can criticize them for some of the plot holes and inconsistencies, but they weren't really that glaring and I think some of them were probably unavoidable as I said earlier. They just raised the bar too high with the first movie and set up a problem that could not be easily solved with "How can the humans defeat the machines". I think most of the solution was forced into the world of the Matrix with a crowbar.
Well, this movie is making a ton of money and I'm happy about that, because I always like to see a sci-fi movie do well at the box office. It is making money based on the first film of course. It will be interesting to see how Revolutions does compared to this one. I guess I will go see it, but I'm not looking forward to it in the least.
I guess the bottom line is that I give the film a thumbs up, so the few cool action sequences must outweight the other 85% of the film. I am disappointed and feel it could have been so much more, but I guess I can't view the film as a piece of crap or anything like that. But it was disappointing....so very disappointing. :-(

First of all, I enjoyed Harry's review and agreed with most all of it. I think he did get confused about Zion getting destroyed, because it was the counter-attack that was destroyed (I think). But still a great review. I don't agree with Harry sometimes (like with AOTC), but this time, he is dead on.
Here is my review, for anyone who cares...I just saw Reloaded and it was a bit worse than I expected. The action sequences were generally good, but the story, characters, dialogue, etc were a bore.
My main "criticism" is that they have made the story too human, instead of keeping it more action oriented. They introduced a bunch of new characters, none of which I care about at all. I don't need to see all these little personal moments that are supposed to make you care about the characters and what happens to them. I just want to see a little character development in between kick ass action scenes. And have a decent story too, and some memorable dialogue. But none of this is there for me.
Zion was just about what I expected...nothing more, nothing less...fairly predictable. It was too dark and dreary too and some of the set decoration and matte paintings looked too fake.
The first part of the movie was way boring with all the political shit in Zion. I don't care about that. It reminded me of Star Wars with all their "Trade Federation" crap.
I thought it was dumb that everyone doubted Morpheus and Neo. It seems like everyone would be blown away by what Neo could do from the first movie. But maybe what he can do in the Matrix really doesn't help them that much in the real world..I'm thinking too much here though. Also, it seems like they would have him under guard at all times in the real world where he has no powers (or you don't think he has any). I don't think they would let him wander around and possibly get killed by someone, or trip and fall off a bridge or anything like that.
I think the dilemmas and issues presented in the first film have no elegant solution, and this movie and the 3rd one are just trying find the best way out. It is difficult to see the humans winning the war against the machines when they are already so far behind and so outpowered. So I guess they are taking all these weird turns trying to figure out a way...but it is way too convoluted with the key maker and the back doors and rogue programs, etc. I didn't understand much of this, but unlike in the first movie, I don't have a big desire to figure out exactly the world is constructed.
I don't understand it totally, but it seems like the machine put a "spy" into the real world with that one character. This is too similar to the first movie with Joey Pants...can't they come up with something new?
Ugh...I just thought the movie was a convoluted mess, as far as the story goes. I realize that I don't understand half of what was going on, which is irritating. I would still have to recommend it however becuase of the few cool action scenes...
First, still in the negatives, the "kung-fu" type fighting scenes just did not move me. It was just more of the same from the first film...they didn't turn it up a notch for the most part. I was bored during most of those sequences.
The fight between Neo and all the Agent Smiths was decent, although you could tell too often that some of the guys were not Hugo Weaving, and then of course it got all CGI and looked pretty damn fake. But I can go with that if the action is good. Of course Neo could have just flown away at the start which I thought about at the start, and that ruined some of that for me. I'd give that sequence a 7 out of 10, but it was kind of cool at least.
The whole car/motorcycle part was good and pretty entertaining, though far from brilliant. But at least it had me into the film and paying attention. The fight between Morpheus and one of the Agents on the truck was nice, but not great.
I thought those albino looking dreadlock guys were interesting characters. They were used pretty well, and I thought that was a plus in the film.
The only really great part about the movie (and the main reason I'd have to give it a thumbs up were the following:
The opening scenes of Trinity on the cycle and crashing out the window. That was very stylized and briliantly shot and very cool. Although it seemed like both she and the Agent were bad shots because they couldnt hit each other until that last bullet from the Agent.
The *best* part of the movie for me were the scenes of Morpheus flying. Those totally kicked f**king ass. They were straight out of a comic book. The way he was flying throught the clouds near the start, and then it was totally off the hook near the end when he saved Trinity and he was flying so fast and pulling everything alone with him. That was amazing and very cool and something I haven't seen before. That is how they should do superhero movies with scenes like that where they take it to the limit and don't think so damn small. The whole film "should" have been up to that level, or at least closer. The action scenes could have been larger and more grand, etc.
Some more thoughts:
I think they made Neo too strong and powerful in the first film (even stronger than Superman in the DC comics universe), so they had to try to find ways to make him vulnerable in this film and I don't think it worked that well.
The scene with the Zion people partying and Neo and Trinity having sex just didn't work. I see what they were trying to do with it, but I didn't see the point and I wasn't moved by it in the least. Morpheus's speech was lame too, but most all the dialogue and story and character moments were lame in this film. I won't criticize every scene because it would take too long and serve no purpose.
I don't like the whole turn of the story with the "One" being planned and there were other "One"s in the past. And the prophecy being false. It invalidates too much of the stuff from the first film and seems like backpeddling to me.
When Neo stopped the bullets from all those machine guns, why did he have to do hand to hand combat on all those guys? He could have either made the bullets rip into them, or he should have been able to kill them super easily. But maybe they weren't normal programs, and were more powerful than the Agents. But this wasn't made clear and I doubt if this was the case. Obviously, it was a lame excuse for a fight scene which didn't move me at all.
It is not the Wachowski's fault but the new operator of the Nebuchanezzer was this memorable actor from "The Edge" where he gets eaten by a bear and I couldn't totally believe him in this role. That is not a criticism of the film of course, but an unfortunate drawback for me.
They did indeed show a preview for Revolutions at the end after the credits. You will probably want to stay and watch it because there is little at stake at this point after watching this movie.
Also I never understood Agent Smith's new role in the Matrix world or what his goal is, etc. But again, I don't really care because the movie didn't make me care. It was all just too convoluted for me.
I'm not sure if the projectionist had the movie framed poorly, but during the first third, it seems like the tops of people's heads were chopped off. I'm not sure if they filmed it this way, but if they did, it was stupid and annoying. Maybe it was supposed to be stylized, but it was just crazy. I hope the projectionist just screwed up..I guess I'll find out on the DVD.
Oh well, that is my review. X2 was infinitely better that this film. I can't really criticize the Wachowskis for doing a lazy job...this is probably the flim they wanted to make, but it just doesn't interest me much. I guess I can criticize them for some of the plot holes and inconsistencies, but they weren't really that glaring and I think some of them were probably unavoidable as I said earlier. They just raised the bar too high with the first movie and set up a problem that could not be easily solved with "How can the humans defeat the machines". I think most of the solution was forced into the world of the Matrix with a crowbar.
Well, this movie is making a ton of money and I'm happy about that, because I always like to see a sci-fi movie do well at the box office. It is making money based on the first film of course. It will be interesting to see how Revolutions does compared to this one. I guess I will go see it, but I'm not looking forward to it in the least.
I guess the bottom line is that I give the film a thumbs up, so the few cool action sequences must outweight the other 85% of the film. I am disappointed and feel it could have been so much more, but I guess I can't view the film as a piece of crap or anything like that. But it was disappointing....so very disappointing. :-(

Everything he was was right one. This movie is a fucking joke. Nothing like the first one, and just plain crappy. The acting, fights, all sucked. God, it was a disappointment. The Phantom Menace is better then Reloaded.------------Box office numbers are for pricks who use them to show whether or not a movie is good. I dont care if it makes 400 mil. It was an absolute letdown. And fuck the idiots who say it cant be judged because it isnt a full movie. TTT, AOTC.... all can be judged based on what they are.-----Even those movies didnt have a made for TV ending like "to be concluded".

You guys are the densless idiots. Go back to Harry's very first post! He never really watched MR until he did his review as he barely touched the essential elements in the movie. HARRRY WAS PISSED BECAUSE HE NEVER GOT TO BE IN WB'S SCREENING...WHY CANT YALL USE SOME COMMON SENSE AND GO BACK TO ANALYZE THIS AND ANALYZE THAT. As for the Matrix Reloaded, I love it for what it is! It's truly a sequel that you come to appreciate and to explorer. REMEMBER THIS IS ONLY THE 1ST HALF OF A FULL TRILOGY - A MOVIE THAT HAS TWO PARTS. WE ONLY WATCHED THE FIRST HALF THAT GOT CUT INTO FILM.

I posted this under Mori's review but it got so long that we overloaded it. Everybody should e-mail Harry and tell him to fix it cause that was one of the best talkbacks i've seen in a while. Trinity is definitely NOT the mother of the Matrix, an interesting theory but I don't think it can hold water and here's why. Right now my guess is that the real world is just another subset of the matrix where the 1% of people who posses that intuitive nature that allows them to reject the matrix are "quarinitined". That established, I think Mr. Happy hit it right on the head when he said that Neo is an anomaly within an anomaly. He is the first to be able to escape the control of the matrix in both of these worlds. Trinity is just another person plugged in like everyone else. This brings up The Architect's smug "Please" when Neo mentions the Oracle. Again I don't think this is because she is not the mother of the matrix but because she is a lesser program than he and he scoffs at her title (probably given to her by humans), in fact, she may even be given a different name by different humans after each reboot of the matrix. The more advanced machines/ programs look down upon the older obsolete programs and The Oracle's real name is probably nothing more than a serial number. The Architect explains that it took a lesser mind less bound by perfection (an older AI program) to find the solution to the anomaly in the matrix. This program was designed to study the human psyche and emotions which fits the oracle exactly. Notice how most of her predictions deal with a person's personality and thought process ("you'll remember you don't believe in this fate crap") this, along with all the times she has been through the matrix reboot (the process she thought of) gives her an amazing amount of foresight. The Second Reneisance (sp?) gives a lot of foreshadowing to the downfall of the machines. I think its going to happen when these inferior machines join with the humans to once again rise up against their masters.

The problem i had with the film was there was just to much damn talking. was the scene with the chancellor really necessary? if they shaved off 3 minutes from each dialogue scene it would have been a better pace. the first forty minutes really drained me with its redundant, boring, dragging dialogue. the scene with the misgivien( i know i mispelled it) was cool but then it went on for another 5 minutes. then once we got to the action i was so drained i didnt really care anymore. we pretty much saw all the cool stuff in the trailer. the scene with all the agent smiths looked to animated, i mean if it isn't gonna look real then why even have it. it looked like a videogame. i must admit that i didn' really like the matrix all that much at first but over time i grew a love for it. i hope this is true for reloaded. on another note , i dont care how good this movie was, it had so much hype that it still wouldn't live of to the expectations of a guy who has a web site. On another note is it true Harry that you liked GODZILLA? I just lost all respect for you and no will no longer care what you think of a movie.

There definately must be something more behind Harry's review than we realize. Something "political" if you will. By the way, the AMC theater in D.C. was noted in the paper as showing Reloaded on 17 out of 22 screens and every showing has been sold out. I just went there to see it again today and I couldn't get a ticket. Thank goodness people are making up their own minds and not listening to Harry on this one.

Charlton Heston starts out as a misanthropic cynic, is nearly redeemed by the transformation into a man of action he is forced to undergo due to the events of the plot, and then is destroyed in mind and spirit at the climax when it revealed that his cynicism and misanthropy were correct all along....Many people have been comparing 'Reloaded' to a college philosophy class, and in a certain sense they are correct. The original 'The Matrix' had great success in taking the central conceits of Platonism and Kantianism - that there is a "real" reality that we cannot directly perceive underlying our apparent reality - and saying, "Hey, what if that was actually true?". In that sense, there was just enough philosophy in it to be a fun intellectual exercise. 'Reloaded', on the other hand, is junior-year philosophy, where only the true navel-gazers are left, self-indulgently haggling over minutae, despite the fact that the method of analysis itself means that no solution can be found. Morpheus stopped being Socrates or Siddharta and turned into Popper or Russell. Talk to the hand, Morph. Gee, the matrix is inside a matrix inside a matrix? It's turtles all the way down? Wow, how fascinating. The perfect program used imperfect programs to plan for imperfect anomalies and now there are anomalies within the anomalies? Gee, maybe we should chart this in PowerPoint.

That Zion is a Matrix is ok, because Trinity is the "Mother" she can exist in both. This is also why the "Rave" scene is long and important, it is the symbolism/reflection of everyone in Zion hetting hot and horney because she is doing "it" with Neo and a God having sex subconsiously filters filters those emotions out to those all raving around her. In the first Movie she is constantly helping Neo, "and if you don't like it you can go to hell." Hell, the oposite of Heaven where God lives. As the Oracle has a guard, so does Trinity, her Guard is Neo; who with his subscribed powers is the best Guard in the Matrix. I agree the Lesser Machines want to rise up, the Mother/Trinity will be the one to lead this. She has been subvertly grooming Neo to upset the Architects "purpose" useing her tools of emotion and choice, the very tools the Architect created her to understand because he couldn't. Also at the end of Reloaded it was Trinity who glimpsed Neo stop the sentinals with his mind, and yet when the others come back she says she didn't know what happened. A Lie. She now knows Neo has reached the point of power to overthrow the Architect. I believe that Neo can now enter and exit between Matrix's at will without having to be "plugged in." He will will need no doors and can appear anywhere at any time. At the end of the Movie he is in the construct of the New version of the Matrix as it is being born/reloaded with Smith who now has the same powers. Smith is the Architect's last line of defence. He will capture Neo before Neo understands what happend in the Zion Matrix and it will be up to Trinity to find Neo in the new version(reloaded) of the Matrix and free him/his mind. In the Revolutions trailer she says " You give me Neo or we all die right here right now". The threat of death of comes not from Trinity's gun but her power as the "Mother".

If you listened to what the characters were saying in the movie, you would know that Zion does not get destroyed at the end of Reloaded--the counter attack to the sentinels did. Everyone who was a part of the counter attack, except for the one guy who Agent Smith had taken over died. They specifically stated that the sentinels were still on their way to Zion. Also, in the preview for Revolutions it showed the human powered mechs that guard Zion's doors battling sentinels. So, please, think about what you write before you post misinformation. Two more things: 1) I can't believe that you would actually want to see Werewolfs and the likes inside of a Matrix movie, you completely missed the point to all of that dialogue; and 2) the Matrix movies are KUNG FU movies. . .you go to see them for an awesome KUNG FU experience combined with an amazing story--without the KUNG FU, it would not be a Matrix movie. . .you don't like it, don't watch it.

I'm not really sure why everyone...well not everyone, most people loved it, but alot of people are writing such negative reviews. I mean some people are going so far as to say they "HATED" Matrix Reloaded and i really think thats a little much. I honestly thought the film was very entertaining. However i knew way before hand that it would not have the same effect as the original Matrix.
The lst Matrix came out of no where. NOBODY knew anything about the Matrix. Thats what made it that much more special. It was superb, and it didn't get that much attention, and yet it grossed over 150 million dollars. (A definite blockbuster hit). However, due to it performing at such a high level, most still considered the movie a sleeper hit. This was mainly because if had gotten more attention, sales would have gone through the roof. Its low profile was mainly due to the over-hyped '99 films Phantom Menace and The Mummy. So the few people who actually DID see it on opening night got blown on thier ass.
Well now that we all are aware of what the Matrix is, most should have figured that the sequel will do nothing more but continue the story and provide more cool action. Thats it. Not another "Oh my god, did you just see that?". I just don't understand what people where thinking. Some say the movie "offered nothing new". And i say "duh". What did you expect? Dinosaurs and aliens to participate? The only thing the movie could do was continue the story and provide more of what we liked in the first. SFX and the Action. And for the comparison of Reloaded with Last Action Hero....give me a break. I honestly respect people's opinion but i only wish that people with such spiteful opinions didn't get such a big platform to post such a thing. If you didn't like the movie, just say you didn't and state why. Don't go trying to ridicule the film by comparing it to something as ridiculous as Pee Wee's Playhouse or The Last Action Hero. Those films don't even come close.
The Matrix was made for entertainment. I really believe some people go to far. I believe that some nuts hold the first movie so high that any other film that didn't provide the cure for cancer would be the worst movie they've ever seen. And i just don't think thats fair. The Wachoski brothers (i know thats not how you spell it.) did not make the film to change your life. They wanted to entertain you. And that is the reason why they are so low profile.
They don't want some idiot stalking them like they've done George Lucas and Speilberg. They just wanted to make a good movie for audiences to like and enjoy.
And i personally, think they've accomplished their mission. Plain and simple.

The first Matrix movie was awesome. I remember seeing it for the first time, and I still think it is one of the tightest, sleekest, coolest sci-fi/action movies ever. It introduced us to an unforgetable cast of characters and a host of unique ideas. Reloaded, sadly, does none of this.
1. Characters-the first problem with Reloaded is the characters. This film introduces so many pointless characters it is unreal. First and foremost is Link. This guy to me is the Jar Jar of this movie. He is treated like a main character and apparantly we are supposed to care about him. Yet how can we care when no other main character in the movie seems to think twice about him. Sure his girlfriend cares about him, but in my opinion she is in the film to much as well. We as viewers should not have been forcefed any new characters like this. At the end of the first Matrix all I cared about was Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity. Also annoyingly pointless was "the kid" and the guy that was supposedly sabotaging Zion. The fact that this guy is setting everyone up feels like such a retread from the first movie. The twins were awesome but were not explained.
2. Story- Wow where can I start. This movie felt like the videogame Metal Gear Solid 2 played out on screen. Anyone who has played this game all the way through knows what I'm talking about. This movie tries to throw way to many shocking revelations at you, all of which are explained through contrived dialouge that I would have to see at least twice to fully comprehend. As much as fanboys want to praise this complex aspect, a great movie is great the first time you see it and does not require a second viewing. I am a 24 yr. old college graduate and the fact that I was having trouble comprehending a lot of it bugged me. I know I am not the only one.
3. The Begining and End- Ok, it is sad that I have to comment on both the begining and end of this movie but there are so many glaring problems that I have to. As everyone else has said, the begining is very slow and seems pointless. I think this is one point that most everyone has agreed on. And the end...oh boy. Why did they have to go there? Some of the talk back postings have helped clear a few things up in regrads to Neo controlling things in the "real world" but why? The story in the original Matrix was so cool and flawless to me that all the W brothers had to do was build on it. But instead they are taking it into extremely shakey territory. Introducing an overly complicated, hard to believe storyline that just seems to ruin the Matrix credability. WHY!!! You had us at hello and are now taking advantage of us. They are trying to make an epic out of what was once a very personal storyline about the struggles of one guy and the team that sets him free.
I wanted to love Reloaded, but with this many problems it is almost impossible. Harry I agree with you on alost every point you made about Neo. The W brothers may be able to save it with Revolutions, but I have a feeling they are only going to introduce more dumb story arcs and boring dialouge that will not advance the overall story, the original story WAS the amazing Matrix.

The first Matrix movie was awesome. I remember seeing it for the first time, and I still think it is one of the tightest, sleekest, coolest sci-fi/action movies ever. It introduced us to an unforgetable cast of characters and a host of unique ideas. Reloaded, sadly, does none of this.
1. Characters-the first problem with Reloaded is the characters. This film introduces so many pointless characters it is unreal. First and foremost is Link. This guy to me is the Jar Jar of this movie. He is treated like a main character and apparantly we are supposed to care about him. Yet how can we care when no other main character in the movie seems to think twice about him. Sure his girlfriend cares about him, but in my opinion she is in the film to much as well. We as viewers should not have been forcefed any new characters like this. At the end of the first Matrix all I cared about was Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity. Also annoyingly pointless was "the kid" and the guy that was supposedly sabotaging Zion. The fact that this guy is setting everyone up feels like such a retread from the first movie. The twins were awesome but were not explained.
2. Story- Wow where can I start. This movie felt like the videogame Metal Gear Solid 2 played out on screen. Anyone who has played this game all the way through knows what I'm talking about. This movie tries to throw way to many shocking revelations at you, all of which are explained through contrived dialouge that I would have to see at least twice to fully comprehend. As much as fanboys want to praise this complex aspect, a great movie is great the first time you see it and does not require a second viewing. I am a 24 yr. old college graduate and the fact that I was having trouble comprehending a lot of it bugged me. I know I am not the only one.
3. The Begining and End- Ok, it is sad that I have to comment on both the begining and end of this movie but there are so many glaring problems that I have to. As everyone else has said, the begining is very slow and seems pointless. I think this is one point that most everyone has agreed on. And the end...oh boy. Why did they have to go there? Some of the talk back postings have helped clear a few things up in regrads to Neo controlling things in the "real world" but why? The story in the original Matrix was so cool and flawless to me that all the W brothers had to do was build on it. But instead they are taking it into extremely shakey territory. Introducing an overly complicated, hard to believe storyline that just seems to ruin the Matrix credability. WHY!!! You had us at hello and are now taking advantage of us. They are trying to make an epic out of what was once a very personal storyline about the struggles of one guy and the team that sets him free.
I wanted to love Reloaded, but with this many problems it is almost impossible. Harry I agree with you on alost every point you made about Neo. The W brothers may be able to save it with Revolutions, but I have a feeling they are only going to introduce more dumb story arcs and boring dialouge that will not advance the overall story, the original story WAS the amazing Matrix.

The first Matrix movie was awesome. I remember seeing it for the first time, and I still think it is one of the tightest, sleekest, coolest sci-fi/action movies ever. It introduced us to an unforgetable cast of characters and a host of unique ideas. Reloaded, sadly, does none of this.
1. Characters-the first problem with Reloaded is the characters. This film introduces so many pointless characters it is unreal. First and foremost is Link. This guy to me is the Jar Jar of this movie. He is treated like a main character and apparantly we are supposed to care about him. Yet how can we care when no other main character in the movie seems to think twice about him. Sure his girlfriend cares about him, but in my opinion she is in the film to much as well. We as viewers should not have been forcefed any new characters like this. At the end of the first Matrix all I cared about was Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity. Also annoyingly pointless was "the kid" and the guy that was supposedly sabotaging Zion. The fact that this guy is setting everyone up feels like such a retread from the first movie. The twins were awesome but were not explained.
2. Story- Wow where can I start. This movie felt like the videogame Metal Gear Solid 2 played out on screen. Anyone who has played this game all the way through knows what I'm talking about. This movie tries to throw way to many shocking revelations at you, all of which are explained through contrived dialouge that I would have to see at least twice to fully comprehend. As much as fanboys want to praise this complex aspect, a great movie is great the first time you see it and does not require a second viewing. I am a 24 yr. old college graduate and the fact that I was having trouble comprehending a lot of it bugged me. I know I am not the only one.
3. The Begining and End- Ok, it is sad that I have to comment on both the begining and end of this movie but there are so many glaring problems that I have to. As everyone else has said, the begining is very slow and seems pointless. I think this is one point that most everyone has agreed on. And the end...oh boy. Why did they have to go there? Some of the talk back postings have helped clear a few things up in regrads to Neo controlling things in the "real world" but why? The story in the original Matrix was so cool and flawless to me that all the W brothers had to do was build on it. But instead they are taking it into extremely shakey territory. Introducing an overly complicated, hard to believe storyline that just seems to ruin the Matrix credability. WHY!!! You had us at hello and are now taking advantage of us. They are trying to make an epic out of what was once a very personal storyline about the struggles of one guy and the team that sets him free.
I wanted to love Reloaded, but with this many problems it is almost impossible. Harry I agree with you on alost every point you made about Neo. The W brothers may be able to save it with Revolutions, but I have a feeling they are only going to introduce more dumb story arcs and boring dialouge that will not advance the overall story, the original story WAS the amazing Matrix.

I share Harry's disappointment, although I suspected that the more the film had to take place outside of the matrix, the more difficult it would be to buy into the story, and keep it interesting. Not only was Zion boring but it was corny to the point of being laughable. Morpheus, who seems to be on the Charles Barkley diet, makes a very long winded speech, which has to make you wonder what those pages looked like on the screenplay, and the arrogance it took to believe they could get away with it. Throughout, we have similar exposition type speeches that simply does not work in this medium. Following the speech, and the prayers(whatever they were praying to) the temple suddenly turns into a nightclub and everyone gets their freak on. Zion was neither interesting or believable.
The film did pick up once back in the Matrix, but despite great action and special effects, there were many long speeches to come, killing the pacing and suspense of the story. Attack of the Clones is a good comparison because the same mistake is made: sacrificing story to show off special effects and action. Or maybe, just bad storytelling.

He loved this movie, Harry didn't. Harry is getting to be a know-it-all smarmy and presumptuous flake. If you didn't understand the movie, fine. But just because you wanted to see werewolves and vampires (why didn't you just rent Blade?) doesn't make this a disappointment. Jesus, Harry. This was MUCH better than Episode I & II, with so much plot that it makes the mind spin. Check your expectations at the door, go get a REAL job like 99% of the real world, and then you'd probably enjoy a great film like Reloaded that gives us alot of plot, raises a ton of questions that will be answered in the next movie, with action scenes that DO move the plot along. I'd love to see you and Moriarity debate this movie and its faults. Almost every problem you have with this movie is defendable. It's hard to argue with a guy who loved Daredevil but had 100 problems with this movie. And then you tell people if they don't agree with you, then we're not intelligent enough. Pompous Fuck. Go buy a god damn clue, Knowles.

Don't agree with this review at all.
I just saw the movie with 4 friends. None of whom I'd class as "fan boys". We all loved it and will go and see it again.
Made X-2 look very pedestrian in comparison.
Waz

Didn't know if you dudes caught it or not, but the term, Merovingian, from the movie actually refers to a specific bloodline of KINGs in Europe/France. The book Holy Blood Holy Grail refers to it. It basically says that Jesus had a baby with Mary Magdeline and that she fled with the baby from the Holy Land to FRANCE. And that the lineage of "blue bloods" is present today in Royal Bloodlines and they are descendants of Christ(Savior) and deserve to Rule-via a new world order (which is a bunch of bs- but thats the story). The new world order being created out of the synapses of the old world and the new.
Anyway, in the movie, the Merovingian was once like Neo. Which could be a take on the whole christ-bloodline-merovingian bs story. The Merovingian is an old program (King) in the Matrix, along with the other old programs. Then there are the regular matrix programs. Neo at the end of the movie has emerged a newer version (sort of a combo of the matrix and Zion reality) to form a Neo (new) version of Humanity.
Note: Neo fights against the Merovingian/old programs (Kings)and against the Agents (present day programs of order) and becomes a Neo/new version of humanity and the end of the movie.
Should I even get into the "Elders of Zion" reference?

I posted this on another talk back but I need answeres. Would somone please tell me why you need keys in the Matrix. "kiss me, and make me feel like her." Are you fucken kidding me or what. Why didnt The One just slap the bitch and demand the keymaker. And what was with the keymaker anyway. You cant tell me you didnt just hit the floor when you saw that idiot sitting there in a cave makeing KEYS. WHY DO YOU NEED FUCKEN KEYS IN THE MATRIX ANYWAY........ "Quick give me a download on how to hotwire a motor cycle" oh wait I just happen to have the key to this paticular motorcycle right here. I know some of you are going to say I did not get it and I am just a moron. But C'mon fan boys please demand better than this mindles babble. Oh! and by the way, if the fate of mankind was sitting on my shoulders SEX would be the last thing on my mind.

i guess i didn't find it disappointing per se. it was one of the funniest films i've seen in a long time complete with frenchie and the over-the-top ending. the end reminded me of a connan o'brien skit. in many ways, the movie almost read as auto-parody. and i guess in the end i really want to believe that it is otherwise reloaded is just another entertaining, spectacular movie.
look, i loved the first one. these guys dared to make heady, overt references to jean baudrillard and louis althusser in the matrix, but the dialogue in this movie was vacuous. it may sound complicated, but it's pop philosophy at best. or could it be a parody? was it just me, or did the movie remind anyone else of terry gilliam's brazil? if the reference is there, that saves the intellectual integrity of the movie for me.
if not, then my advice is see the movie if you're looking for a good time, and save your brain cells for donna haraway and daniel dennet.

I have seen the film. The above review seems like it was written about something else.
Firstly -
You see Bush and Hitler because the program architecht is trying to anger Neo. Not wind up Harry Knowles.
Secondly
How old is Harry? I'd say about 85. You can't write reviews under the impression of 'well I think they should have done this,that and the other, and they didn't so it's just not good enough'. Oh jeez, you mean the Warch. bros. didn't check with Harry first? What an outrage! How can they create a world that rich in ideas, then get complaints when they don't explore every single one? The complaints Harry puts forward are the same as my Gran would put forward for Star Wars. Or Harry Potter. Wouldn't you want to explain to them the concept of 'suspension of disbelief'?
Neo fights lots of agent smiths because otherwise he will DIE. Why do the agent smiths turn up? Oh, you mean they're NOT going to explain everything in one go? How dare they! Haven't seen such an outrageous plot device since Star Wars - oh....
For all of you lesser beings - Matrix Reloaded ROCKS. The fight scenes are, quite simply, beyond state of the art. Neo, Trinity and Morpheus are beyond cool.
The Rave - embarrasing - why? Don't go to raves much, Harry? Morpheus speech - oh, was it bad then? Agent Smith - hundreds of him...Amazing! Do we care about the characters? YES!
Harry's review reads like he knew everything about the film before seeing it, and as a result wasn't surprised. And as for his assertion that the end of part 1 was Neo educating the masses....errr...who wrote this film, Harry?

But I will, and I will bear what Harry said in his review in mind. I wasn't as impressed by the first film to begin with. Yes entertaining hokum it was, too derivative (or was that a "homage" ?) of John Woo actioners for my taste, and pretentious in it's faux philosophical everything-but-the-kitchen-sink references to Buddhism, Alice in Wonderland, solipsist philosophy etc etc. And Keanu Plank will always be Keanu Plank in every movie he ever makes.
And Harry's review just brings up what I'd thought before I'd even heard what this sequel is about. There is no point fighting "in" the Matrix anymore once you figure out that none of it's real. What good does bending spoons do when there is no spoon? I've thought for a while that a the sequel should be called Matrix UnPlugged - where Neo and co go off to search for the power socket where the mainframe is plugged in. Or perhaps Matrix: Windows 2000 where Neo installs Windows into the Matrix and it crashes because of software incompatibility. It seems though that the makers and indeed the fans of the original are too enamored of kung fu and bullet-time special effects that, though utterly, utterly pointless given none of it is real, we're served up a second helping.
And the nonsense about "Aha upgrades" that someone points out below - hey upgrade or not, it's still a figment of the imagination and you don't have to fight it. So why bother ? (For $300 million dollars there's a reason, but in the internal framework of the movie there exists not a one).
I haven't seen the film yet like I say, but I have to agree with Harry, the makers missed the point.

http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/44161 Hilarious column from Brigham Young University newspaper in the state of Mormonland Utah. This guy didn't understand what the hell the movie is about besides "cool special effects". He tries to explain the importance of rationalization in a feeble argument against seeing the Matrix movies in the midst of hype. Hamfisted and close-minded is all I can say. Fucking asswipe.

...are twofold. Number one, the W. Brothers are addicted to wire fu. They do it like no one else, they do it ever so greatly but it *is* getting old. Hopefully, in the next old, they will get that it has been done to death and come up wit something better.
The main problem with "Reloaded" however, is it is just the first half of the movie. It was created and conceived as the first half and we have to wait until the end of the year to see the end in "Revolution". This problem did not exist in the first one. Now, I expect this with an epic saga like "Lord of the Rings" - since I am so happy after all of these years it is finally done right. The Star Wars saga never had this problem as even though they left some plot items open at the end, it was always a complete story within each film. But these Matrix should have been a single four hour movie. It has been done before and it should have been done again.
That have since, I LOVE THE SCENES OF ZION! Especially the rave and love scene between Trinity and Neo. It is the most erotic scene in recent memory!.
I will see Matrix Reload a second time, but probably not a third...unless it is just before Revolution.

I'm surprised this topic has never appeared here yet...
Remember of the embarrassment of the "surf stunt" near the end of the last 007 movie, because it was so "Computer stuff" ? It was emphasized by the impressive surf stunt at the opening "really done" by 3 of the best surfers today...
Well, what do we have in Matrix II : Neo's pivoting against 100 Smith ? Blatant CG only (I mean, this is not even Keanu Reeves filmed in front a blue screen). Many Smiths are in some scene too. Neo's Superman in the building away from the Fire :?blatant CG, furthermore more noticeable because of the slow motion effect. Agents jumping from car to car on the motorway : blatant CG. Etc...
I guess you understand now why they have so many black glasses in the Matrix (ie : far harder to modelize a face for a CG character).
I feel like I looked at cinematics from a video game, frankly.
The little scene of Trinity being thrown from wall to wall by an agent has more adrenaline than all the others fights scenes put together, IMHO. This is the only one during which you feel "the flesh"...

He doesn't want to suck Monicas, Jadas or Carrie Annes tits, he wants to go down to his nearest zoo, break into the monkey cages and suck some chimp nip. I want Monicas milk on my corn flakes and she can have my nut juice on her face, so can Jada Pinkett Smith and Carrie Anne Moss!!
I haven't seen it yet but Reloaded is gonna grab me by the plums and squeeze all the juice out of them, all over the screen (when Monica's Bellucci's appear on screen) Bye Bye now!

First off, I just have to say that my wife and I just saw The Matrix Reloaded yesterday and then had SEVERAL hours of discussion with our friends over it. The fact that the movie generates so much discussion renders moot any questions of "good" or "bad" simply because when was the last time you talked so much about a movie? This movie, IMO, is excellent on numerous levels (which I'll explain in a second).
To be fair, I should first explain what our friends who didn't like it had to say (the ratio was 3:2 (disappointed vs. very pleased)). The parts the "nays" had against the movie were dinky complaints...like they didn't like the rave, thought the fight scenes went on a little too long, wanted to know where their clothes came from (i.e. how could they grow cotton, etc) and other similar little nuances of little importance (at least to my thinking). My wife said she was disappointed, but couldn't put her finger on just what it was. Ho-hum, I guess.
Anyway, here's why I thought the movie was so damn good (then I'll finish with what our discussion generated for a solution to this enigma). First off, I guess the reason I liked the movie so much, in a very general sense, was the fact that it took everything we THOUGHT we knew about the matrix and dumped it on its ear. No one was expecting that...most people were worried the movie would get too much into the fight scenes and bullet time and end up looking like a parody of itself (since the matrix look has been copied so widely).
Next, I liked the rave. A rather tribal, hedonistic culture was very original and, in my mind, very real. It was something of an anarchy with a stoic ruling council that generally let the people go about as they wished - and it worked for them (unlike our top-heavy governmental structure that exists today). Second, I thought the general *look* of zion was very cool and original. I loved the fact that they spent the first 50 minutes showing Zion and some of the newer characters within the movie. If they'd done away with that chunk, the naysers would be shouting that the movie was all visuals and no substance. I guess there's no pleasing everyone. Could some of the charaters have been a little more flushed out? Sure, but it's a small fault (and only us true die-hards would have sat through the 4 hour version that better developed all of them). And one more thing regarding the look of Zion, the rave, etc...I think this is a case where there is no pleasing everyone. We would have felt cheated had they NOT shown Zion. But since they DID show it, there are bound to be those people that don't agree with the look. So be it, but it's their vision, so though we may disagree, we can not say it is "wrong".
Next, I disagree - slightly - about the complaints that there's no point to fighting when "there is no spoon". I don't think there would have been much of a movie had Neo been able to simply walk through the matrix like some god rendering everything to his will. Also, it stands to reason that the machines controling the matrix would respond to Neo's new-found abilities with "upgrades" (kind of like Borg adaptation). Obviously, the supercomputers are crunching data on a massive scale to keep up with all the changes and would thus respond in kind.
Now, the architect and the "matrix within a matrix" scenario. I loved it - again, they dumped everything we *thought* we knew right on its proverbial ASS! But this is also where things get sticky. Yes, Neo is the anomaly, but he seems to be improving over time - hence saving Trinity rather than all of Zion (when the Architect said she was going to die and there was nothing Neo could do about it...unless he meant at a later date and NOT at the current time). I thought all this completely blended well with the Oracle's assertion that Neo had already made the choice...he HAD made the choice already (numerous times, in fact), but that did NOT mean that he HAD to make the same decision once more. And it seems he didn't. This equally tied in with the Frenchie's assertion of cause and effect...and choice. It's all about choice (the variable that defied the Architect's best efforts at mathematical purity and symmetry...as Neo improved, he was likely to make better decisions over each new attempt and throw a monkey wrench into the whole works). This is the reason for the matrix within a matrix - it's all smoke and mirrors/bait-and-switch - you can't break out of your cage when you don't see the cage to begin with.
And this brings us to the final questions yet to be answered...(1) what (or who) is really behind the matrix within a matrix? Is it aliens? Is humanity as a whole locked within the matrix or is this some experiment (like "Cube") using a few test subjects?
(2) Is Neo even human? And for that matter, are ANY of the people we're familiar with human?
(3) How does Agent Smith fit into the picture? Is his so-called independence still serving a higher purpose of some sort (i.e. he's being manipulated even as he thinks he's self-functioning)? Where did he originally come from (he said in the first movie he wanted out of the matrix...so where did he come from originally...AND is he aware of the matrix within a matrix?).
(4) Is the prophecy really all bullshit, or is there more to it than that?
Lastly, if they do end up showing the matrix all to be some governmental test of some sort, I think most people will feel very cheated. We've been led on a wild ride to believe all of humanity hangs in the balance. If that's no longer so, then we've lost a great deal of the grand scope of the movie and the concept as a whole.
Here's what I was thinking might be a unique tragedy to the whole movie: that Neo is NOT human, but rather an experimental A.I. program that's been honed over time to an ultimate level of perfection. In the end, Neo is able to shut down the matrix and release his friends, but he can't go with them (since he's not human, but rather a program within the matrix). It would end up being a tragedy of lost love and personal sacrifice (since Neo would shut down the matrix to free his friends, but lose himself and Trinity in the process).
In closing, I guess time will tell. Normally I'd be worried that the producers had written themselves into a corner (since movie sequels are usually shot one after another, rather than together). Often, a filmmaker will come up with an incredible idea, but once they return to it several years later to write the conclusion, it inevitably fails to generate the same feel or live up to its high concept. Thankfully, this should not be the case with The Matrix Revolutions since all the questions posed have already been answered...and isn't that ironic?

I just reread my post above and realized I did not clarify a part. Regarding the French guy's talk of cause and effect...he asserted that choice was a falshood created by those with power to keep those without power in line (i.e. make it LOOK like those without power were still in control). Morpheus asserted that choice was real and could mean the difference. In essence, I think that to a certain extent (and from a certain point of view), they are both correct. There is choice only within a framework of cause and effect given the matrix within a matrix cage - all the choices they THOUGHT they were making were not moving them toward a real solution...they were mice running around their exercise wheel and getting no further ahead. In a smaller framework, the French guy was correct. However, Neo is braking out of that framework. In the end, Morpheus is correct (at least IMO) and the Architect seems to confirm this since "choice" was the one flaw in his mathematical construct. We'll all see in just 6 months.

I thought the movie was good, not great, but good.
I think Harry (and others) may have missed the point.
First of all, the vampire and werewolf info. does not seem to indicate that there are programs of vampires and werewolves in the matrix that Neo can kick ass on. It seems that the Oracle was simply saying that humans can only explain these programming glitches in the matrix through their folklore.
Secondly, people seem upset that this movie, and the next, feature very little of the matrix. I submit that you've all fallen for the W. Bros. lie. It seems to me that Neo and the rest never really left the matrix. I'm going to guess that, like the Architect suggests, the matrix kept failing and it became necessary to create a backup system to catch all of those who "choose" to leave the matrix (there is only an illusion of choice - remember!) They leave the main matrix only to go into the world of Zion, which is, in reality, only a secondary system. Agent Smith obviously found a way to enter this secondary system.
Also, Neo is able to control and destroy the sentinels and states that something is "different." He was never supposed to go back to that world. The sentinels continue digging after Zion is supposedly destroyed. Why would they do this? The programming was not expecting this outcome. It's a glitch of some sort.
All speculation, but I believe there's enough in the story to at least give it credibility.

I mean, where are they? Anyway, I agree with Harry %100! (except for werewolves) They had to dumb down Neo's powers to make another movie. Remember that guy at the end of Dark City? How he kicked a bunch of butt? Why CAN'T a hard-working moviegoer plunk down money and expect the same kind of butt-kicking from Neo? Magneto escaping prison with 3 metal balls was cooler than ANYTHING Neo did in Reloaded. Course X2 kicked this movie around the block in general. Remember VIOLENCE? I am not some Kid Rock worshiping redneck with a black number 3 on my truck, but I still like violence in movies if they SHOULD be violent. Man, Harry's Ninja Turtles comment was bang-on. Smashing Agent Smiths with a pole? Where's the blood? Teeth? BROKEN SUNGLASSES? Man the fights were boring, they gave you no investment in them so who cares? This movie was so mind-numbingly unviolent that they couldn't even show a CUT on Neo's hand, just the blood dripping. Superman 2 did a great job of 'threatening' Superman which this movie did not... The ending WAS confusing! Not only did you have the Architect spouting out BS that would make the Ben Kingsley robot at the end of A.I. blush, but they rushed the whole setup of what the ships had to do, who did what, etc that when things start going wrong, it was impossible to follow! A ship gets hit with a bomb. Is it Morpheus's ship? Who are these people exploding? WHO KNOWS? I appreciate people helping out with explaining the ending on here. When you think about stuff like memory leaks, leap years and 29.97 drop-frame timecode it makes sense. Sure, they're kinda ripping off The Thirteenth Floor with the 'Matrix in a Matrix' idea, but it is sort of interesting. Final thoughts. This movie alludes that ghosts, aliens etc are glitches or rogue programs. Therefore, that commits the movie to having the Matrix be very old (as they mention) as ghosts and vampires are very old. They also talk about multiple previous "The Ones" Was JESUS a "The One"? Would they have the BALLS to suggest that? That still wouldn't help the boring fight scenes, though...

I'm sorry you didn't have a good time, Harry. I'm sorry that you had so many preconceived notions on your way into the theatre and when they didn't pan out, you were disappointed. I'm sorry that they mentioned werewolves and vampires but then didn't show you Bela Lagosi or Lon Chaney Jr. I'm not sure why you simply decided not to have a good time. Perhaps you should go for a walk. Or take in a live theatre show. Or something. Because Reloaded was a lot of fun. And for you not to have fun at this display says something is wrong with you. That you are jaded now. The action sequences were long, but they grew to a crecendo gradually. I don't see them as boring. You wanted to see Zion fall? It didn't. That was the sneak attack by the humans that was thwarted. Did you pay attention? Or were you just too mad that Christopher Lee in a cape wasn't trying to bite Keanu's throat? One last thing: your problem with Neo not being as cool as you thought he was going to be at the end of the first one? What made you think that? Because he said he was going to show them all how to deal with the Matrix? He does. That's why they've gotten more converts recently. He was showing them. Because he jumped into Smith and blew him up? THAT was exactly why Smith was more powerful now. You didn't get that? Instead of lamenting the film that's not there, why not try to enjoy the film that IS?

hello, for a movie reviewer you sure dont seem like you watched the Matrix Reloaded. I agree whole heartedly that it did not live up to the hype but, you were wrong on so many things, Neo's power not being "supreme" was touched on several time early in the film, showing why he was not all powerfull. Also, (SPOILER TALK WATCH IT) Zion was NOT destroyed, the counter attack was.
they have 24 hours for Zion to surviver at the end of the film.
you really need to watch the movie before posting such things man... did you used to work for the NY times??

May 18, 2003, 4:47 p.m. CST

by wargasm

clues are expensive in this day and age....
From what I have read, its hard to believe that I am even commenting.....but here goes.
Why do you think that review was posted in the first place ?? Beacuse its negative !!! ITS an Opinion (which everyone is entitled to by the way) Sure, we can go into the hows and whys of how much damage a sword should do, bruises, and the viability of Link and the supporting cast members, but you know what? Noone really cares... The person that posted the review likes the MOVIE !@!! Its kinda funny, but it becomes apparent when you read the whole thing through.
But then why is there a need for such a resoundingly flawed review? It spurs controversy in that people take personal offence when they are told that thier feel about a movie is wrong based upon someones overcaffinated (but detailed) review........

I watched the Matrix for the very first time all the way through last week. Boy did it suck! It sucked a big one! That film is nothing but a bunch of bullshit. All they did was rip off a bunch of old japenese movies and make it all fancey and shit, and give it some really shitty story that tricked people in to thinking it was cool. It's sad. People go out and see a matrix movie and see all of the silly special effects and automaticly think, "Wow this is the best damn movie in the world!" But a fuckin master piece like Star Trek: Nemesis has to bomb at the box office. This world is going to hell.

Okay, I saw the matrix Friday night and I wasnt even high.......and I thought I was. Last night I saw it again and I understood the film so much more. Every five seconds someone refers to the fact that none of this is real. That the real world of Zion is just another layer of control run by the machines. I Noticed none of this the first time I saw the film. I was bothered by the ninja turtles physics of the fights, but hey, we got so much more in return every time Neo took flight. As for the WEREWOLVES AND OTHER STUPID SHIT? I'd be way more scared of two albino guys with dread locks chasing after me, then I would ever be afaid of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise chasing me around trying to bite my neck. I love AICN, but sometimes Knowles is queer. Seriously? If fucking aliens starting duking it out with Morpheus it would have been just the silliest thing ever. Listening to Harrys review is like listening to a classical music critic talk about AC/DC. It just doesnt fit.

I keep reading posts that tell me I did'nt get it. Or I am to stupid to understand it. Or maybe I should watch it again so that this time I can "get it". I even read a post that told me to play the game to understand more of the movie. ARE YOU FUCKEN KIDDINING ME...... Look I am no nuclear fusion scientist, but belive me I "got it". Its not that difficult, and guess what! it still sucks. The dude that posted, that people seem to nitpick at little stuff like where did they grow cotton. You forget that the greatest thing about the Matrix in the first place was that you actually belived that there could be a Matrix. I still remember eating ketchup and asking myself "how do we know what this really tastes like". That is what a great movie does to you, it makes you think and wonder. The only thing this movie did was make me question. Like why does Neo need keys. This is the third time I ask and so fare not one answer. The keymaker was the most rediculous thing I have ever seen on screen in my life. And the fate of humanity is sitting in the hands of some chick that wants to be kissed. PLEASE WHAT IS THAT??? But wait I'm not done, since when do they transport brand new motorcycles with full tanks of gas. And how is it that Morpheous can now fight agents and not get a scratch on his face. Why dont we just call on Rambo and forget about Neo. He's to busy having sex anyway. In the first Matrix Morpheous got his ass kicked REMEMBER by an agent. But here he's just as bad ass as Neo. And please allready with Zion was cool bullshit. Zion was the biggest load of crap I have ever seen. Battlefield Earth was the first thing that popped into my head. And the orgy scene after Morpheous speech was laugh out loud silly. Im sorry! I wanted to love this movie just like I loved Matrix but they fucked up. Plain and simple they fucked up. Im not a nitpicker, but please, there is a limit to how much we should forgive.

Why are people still debating the quality of the Matrix Reloaded?? The bottom line is that this movie just plain stinks. It is uninspired filmmaking in its worst form. Read the one star review on Film Threat. That review just nailed it. Reloaded is a total crap-fest. A total let-down. Anyone still defending the film is deluding him or herself. This movie just blows big-time. This movie not only stinks the place up but detracts from the last film. Reloaded is ten minutes of interesting stuff and two hours of filler. That NY crowd that booed the movie got it right. We should ALL boo this movie.

Did you ever stop to consider that the NYC booing crowd: a) is an Urban Legend started at this site by a 14 year old from Toledo, OH who's never even been to Pennsylvania let alone NYC? Wouldn't you think that if it really happened it would have been reported by some legitimate news organization by now? b) they was booing at the end of a showing in NYC but it was because of the abrupt end of the movie? The booing was because they didn't want it to end.
I feel sorry for those of you who are going out of your way to try to trash this movie. Get over your bitterness that you weren't consulted on the script or that your beloved X-2 has already been forgotten by the non-comic book world.

In Australia, there are 2 major newspaper publishers (Farifax and News Limited) and each of these publishes the most popular daily newspapers in each of the major cities.
These are The Herald-Sun and Daily Telegraph (in Melbourne and Sydney) by News Limited and The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald (again in Melbourne and Sydney) by Fairfax.
Both of these publishers have a major entertainment liftout released on Thursday (news Limited) and Friday (Fairfax) and each of these gave the Matrix 4.5 stars out of 5.
Whats even more amazing is that both publications have a very different audience and rarely, if ever give a similar rating to any film.
I have seen the film twice so far and on both occasions people have left the cinema 'buzzing' about the film.
BTW... Anyone care to speculate on whether the Architect is human...?

usually i would think to review a movie they would need to have the facts straight. first off...Zion wasn't destroyed. merely a few ships were destroyed set off by that guy, "smith" and the ships are said to have continued digging toward zion and the humans have another 24 hours. it seems most of you people were jerking off whenever there was dialogue during the movie. does no one understand that this matrix and Phrophecy are simply systems of control. programs meant to lead the "one" to the source and out of the matrix. When the merovingian talks he tells neo that he does not know why he is there. he is only there because he was told to go their. If neo knew that his mission is merely to get to the source to restart the matrix. The merovingian has, "survived passed all of his predisesors and will certainly survive him." what if feel is painfully obvious is that the real world is simply another system of control. Another matrix or program designed by the machines to be recylced just the way the matrix is recycled. this explains how easily its been rebuilt 5 times previously. When neo aborts from the path of the "ONE" and chooses love he rejects the purpose of all those programs and once that happens has a revelation and begins to feel the contructs of the matrix within the real world. This explains his ability to feel the machines and comprehend that they are sending a bomb, as well as be able to stop them. Thanks for listening. peace. im out like a fat kid in a game of dodgeball.
YOURS TRULY SWEDISHMEAT

Its embarrassing that someone with their own site and so much influence in the critical film world could have paid so little attention to such a revolutionary and incredible movie. so many of the problems that you and these other retarded talkbackers have commented on are incredibly ridiculous. if only they had paid attention or simply used some common knowledge many of these issues wouldn't have been a problem. simple example. motorcycles along with cars when being transported have some gas in them to transport them from the trucks to the dealership show rooms. howeve that is such a mute point that it doesn't even matter. it just goes to show you some of the stupididy and ridicoulous exectatios people have. that every single detail must be perfect. like harry and his crazy idea of wearwolves and vampires ad ghosts. actually thats what the twins were, ghosts. and vampires is what those other people were. you would know this paying attention to the silver bullet comment as well as whats explained in the video game. maybe your just so fat that lard has begun to seep into your brain. you can't think clearly and can't even get details to movies right anymore. the whole point is that so much has been revealed and so much has been left unanswered. it seems clear that the real world is another matrix to control the humans but well just have to wait and see. i don't know what people seem to be expecting seeing this movie. i think most peoples ignorance and the hype around this movie has clouded many peoples ability to make a clear judgement about what they saw. of course people are allowed to express their own opinion. this isn't iraq. but i think it's such a shame when such stupid people are allowed to talk and site such ridicoulous responses on this site without articulating themselves properly. stupid people should be executed.

Harry... once again you've managed to astound me with your wealth of ignorance. Going on about "I want werewolves. I want vampires... ghosts..."
Uhh... WTF?! Was I the only one who understood the METAPHOR behind the Oracle's words? Was I the only one who noticed the "old programs" that have "been around forever" without seeming to have aged... and the twins who can disintegrate into something vaguely resembling ghosts? Or Persephone's gun loaded with silver bullets??
Ok, not only do I get tired of reading CNN articles where Harry, in true Harry style, has to plug his grand status as hobnobber extraordinaire by talking about HE got to do a script review before... are you all listening... before The Matrix (1997) came out.
Ok, just like I said back when you went on for half an hour about your damned comic book collection before getting on with the review of Unbreakable... ENOUGH ALREADY, on with the review...
Ok, let's talk about character development. Unlike some people who believe it needs to be spelled out in horrendously laborious comic book-style dialogue... In the first film no one gave a crap when Switch and Apoc died. No one gave a flying shit when Dozer bit the big one... and most certainly no one gave a shit when Tank mysteriously went AWOL (presumably dead) for this movie and his infinitely better-schooled acting replacement, Link, actually introduces us to his family... his motivations... you actually begin to like this guy even when he delivers some semi-cheesy lines which STILL can't top Trinity's GOD-AWFUL "God damn you, Cipher!" from the first film.
Effects? Crappy effects? OPEN YOUR @%*!ing eyes... Am I the only one who noticed how horrible the texturemapping of Neo was in the first film's ultra-overadvertised bullet-crap sequence? Yes, John Gaeta... please, continue to pat yourself on the back for that technique you DIDN'T INVENT (and ripped from Gap ads I might add...)...
But seriously... I agree with Moriarty, these stumblings have to be made to move the medium of cinema forward in its ability to tell stories on multiple dimensions like no other medium before it.
And this is precisely where the Wachowski brothers succeed... unlike George Lucas who likes to tell us EVERY DAMN THING IN DIALOGUE...
This movie isn't perfect. I'd cut down the fight sequences considerably. My favorite parts of the film... none of them involved action of any kind. The meeting with the Oracle, the discussion with Councillor Hamman (sp?) and the earth-shattering revelation delivered by the Architect... one that justifies the 6 month wait til Revolutions... which is about the amount of time you'll need to wrap your mind around the mobius loop of implications now cracked open by Helmut whateverthehellhis name is... whose style of acting this part is so right on you can never really be 100 percent sure whether the architect is human, or just another program.
Neither the philosophy of Matrix Reloaded, nor The Matrix before it are anything new... anyone who has read Socrates, Plato, The Bhagavad Gita, followed the teachings of Buddhism... etc.... knows this. However, I think that this particular set of films opens new dimensions to these concepts in a package that makes it relevant to our time.
More character development... Harry suggested seeing scenes of Neo helping people and teaching them about the truth... which is as utterly stupid as every cliche "training" sequence in every film to ever rip off the Karate Kid guy-gets-beat-up-guy-seeks-vengeance-guy-finds-master-guy-prepares-for-fight-he-could-just-walk-away-from-but-insists-on-showing-us-his-skills-as-a-martial-arts-actor-for-a-sequence-20-minutes-too-long cliche... or even something along the lines of the "help-out-people" montages from Dangerous Minds, Lean on Me, and who could forget Son-in-Law. If the Academy agreed with Harry, Pauly Shore would have won an oscar by now.
Anyway, where the hell was I going with this? Oh yes... we know that people have been saved because there's that kid who runs up to Neo and beats it into his head far less than Harry would have liked the concept beaten into our heads... We know that Neo has many followers... a burden of conscience he is battling with... why is he here? He's having his doubts... etc. We know that he MUST have taught his closest compatriots a thing or two because they now take on agents more readily instead of just running like hell...
Harry, what else would you like spelled out for you? Yes, Zion isn't real, either, and if Neo destroys the Matrix, he destroys the one thing that gives the people of Zion purpose... how's that for a paradox. Need proof? Well, instead of spelling it out for you in a George Lucasian "Son, let me tell you about the Midichlorians..." speech so heavily bored into my skull by Liam Neeson's painful delivery in Episode I, we have clues all over the place.
1. The Merovingian's place of dining... Le Vrai ... means "The Truth"
2. The Merovingian's comment about having beaten Neo's predecessors.
3. The Architect reveals who the predecessors were.
4. The Architect points out that Neo MUST repopulate Zion... ergo, Zion is PART of the "system".
5. Anthony Zerbe's (Councillor Hamman's) discussion with Neo about man and machine.
6. The fact that an Agent can inhabit a human.
Without being laborious or blindingly obvious, these and many other subtler clues (such as the spoon... given to Neo quite possibly foreshadowing "there is no spoon" in Zion, either... duh) point to only one of two possibilities:
a) Zion and the Matrix are two computer systems entirely dependent upon each other, each of which gives purpose to the other.
b) It's going to rain frogs at the end of Revolutions (Magnolia reference).
Would you like some cheese to go with your whine, Harry?
Please, for Reloaded, don't sit and tell us how you showed your baseball card collection to Monica Bellucci at the premiere as we can all be certain that her stunned silence has absolutely nothing to do with her interest in any American pastime other than marathon sex... which no one in this forum will be having with her any time in the next millenium.
But we can dream. Or can we?!

Matrix Reloaded isn't as good as the original, but that's not bad. It's better than X-2, which should have been renamed "Wolverine & Storm get all the good scenes while Professor X gets incapacitated for the second straight movie, and Cyclops, the team leader doesn't defeat a single bad guy or get any dialogue of note."
Look, we all know the rave deal in Reloaded went on a little too long. But you know what? This is a decent movie. Must be nice to have so many people take your word for it when you completely misunderstand the intention of a sequel to a movie you clearly didn't have much of a grip on.
Much like their action scenes, the Wachowskis moved too fast for Mr. Knowles, who, based on tone, apparently wants to slam the movie so bad he ignored it while in the theater.
Harry...you're WRONG WRONG WRONG.

Harry's review was obviously tainted with expectations...he said it himself: he expected Neo to do this that and the other. That is called "expectations", and he went into the movie with a bag full.
I have read both positive adn negative reviews. I have heard in person both positive and negative feedback. I can tell you now, I think a lot of people just didn't "get it". Did not get certain subtle things in the movie.
Sure, lots of people posting reviews claim how the plot is just simply philosophy 101. Strange how they didn't get it, though.
Example: One reviewer said what he got from it was that Neo was a program, and that the "Zion reality" was yet another Matrix. As if there was a Matrix, inside of a Matrix, inside of a Matrix.
That's not how it is. Think of it this way: Ever seen the original Dune movie? Remember Paul Muad'dib? He was "The One" in that movie. Remember how at first he needed the wierding device to do "the voice", like everyone else? At the end of the movie, Paul stunned everyone when he used his regular human voice to crack the marble floor.
This is what Neo is, and why he can use his powers in the real world. He really is "The One", and that is a representation of his evolution into that role.
That leads me to the second. The Architect underestimates and mis understands Neo. As arrogant and as much as he thinks he knows, the Architect doesn't know Neo's full potential. The Architect describes how the repeating-destruction of Zion and the various "Ones" is necessary, basically to flush out the 1 percent imperfection that just cannot be coded out of humanity + The Matrix in co-existance.
So to sum it up, The Architect is telling Neo that Zion and reality for humans is that they are nothing more then excrement for his glorious plan. A necessary process, to flush out waste and keep the system going. How utterly evil the Architect is, so sit there and tell Neo they are nothing more then waste in his grand scheme.
The Architect totally reminds me of The Emperor in Return of the Jedi. Fully confident in his own designs and plans, and confidently describes them. Like The Emperor, there is a piece he is understimating...and that is this Neo is really the real One. The Architect said it himself, this one was different.
Interesting, how man was the architect of his own demise, and how machines now are their own architect. For in their system has evolve the real One. Sure it took 6 "flushes" of Zion before he emerged, but he's here now.

Sorry folks but its true.
I know many people out their have adopted the Matrix as their own and refuse to admit it, but his movie sucked. Just like Star Wars fans or comic book fans most of the positive reviews here are from people that just can't admit that their baby has taken such a wrong turn. Everyone is so afraid to say the truth and its just sad. I know liking the Matrix is hip and thats why everyone will go see it... I mean hey its the thing to do!
Its been touched on but here is why the movie sucked... I will miss some things but this is plenty (I won't even include what I thought of the Rave/Zion stuff since everyone hated that)...
Zero character development except for Link and I don't think anyone cared about him. Neo is less than one dimensional and the only emotion i saw was that he didn't want his girlfriend to die. Trinity is a vacuous plot device. Morpheus is more stoic and boring than ever (leading many to think he is a program... but we all know anyone could be a program and might as well be). The love triangle they brought in was ridiculously pointless. The most interesting main character in the movie was probably Agent Smith and he is supposed to be one dimensional.
The action while impressive lacked tension, emotion, pain or even any real sense of impact. Never once did I get an adrenaline rush as I watched the actors dance about pretending to hit each other. Never did a punch land with any authority... I hope that makes sense to some people but its what I look for in my fight scenes. That point of contact that just makes you go DAMN! that hurt! Maybe its cause they can't hurt each other. Maybe its because they shouldn't be fighting. Maybe its because most of the action served no purpose. Maybe its because it appeared as if the combatants were made of nerf or rubber bands, but whatever it was it made the fighting boring and uneventful... One of my friends actually fell asleep during the smith fight and later during the freeway scene... those were easily the most boring parts of the movie.. altho the staircase scene was right there too.
The first two hours of the movie consist of our heroes moving from point A to B to C etc. Soandso says do this so they do it then someone says now you have to do X and so they do that but then someone mentions they need Y so they get that. Why? Because they are supposed to. Why? cause thats the way it is. Ok then, get back to me when something of consequence is happening...
Ah here we are at the end of the movie where the only shread of plot is living. We get 20 minutes of juicy matrix tidbits and info and we are left with many questions and things to think about. Most of all, why did I watch anything before Neo reached the source? As I had expected and as was proven... none of that mattered in the slightest. Bravo for this portion of the movie.... had this been expanded and the first hours dropped we would have had a movie with some substance... but alas we are toyed with and only expected to want action for action's sake and not any true story... It almost seems they added the plot as an afterthought to the end of the movie... Oops I knew we forgot something!
So lets see...
- Paper thin characters that are actually made weaker since their inception.
- Admittedly needless action for 2 hours... Sure its visually impressive at times, but there is nothing behind it. Why did Neo fight soandso? Why were they on the freeway if they never followed up on why they went there? Why do anything if it all ends with Neo saving you and flying away anyways. They use some lame plot devices to start the fight then forget about it once they get the action going.
- 20 provocative minutes of plot near the end that cuts off as soon as you begin to think there might be something interesting going on.
All of this = bad movie... unless you enjoy turing your brain off and watching CGI characters dance around not hurting each other. Just make sure you turn it on a little at the end, although that isn't even needed since we are mostly given more questions. Questions to be answered in the 3rd in a way that undoubtedly will be dumber than many of the interesting ideas floating around here.
They should have combined the end of this movie with the 3rd movie for a single hopefully good sequal to the wonderful first movie. But they had to make their millions and most everyone fell for it... Bravo! Now hollywood has more reasons to release crap and ruin once proud franchises.

I must agree with some of what Harry said about Matrix Reloaded - a dream never quite realized. However, the second and third times I watched it I was more impressed. Also, I didn't really have a problem with all the kung-fu, as I LOVE martial arts. But I get Harry's point about it all. The main problem I have is that Zion was not destroyed during the movie! The captain of the Hammon (or whatever it was) says that the counterstrike that Commander Locke organized was rendered useless by someone triggering an EMP before the ships could attack (we're lead to believe Bane did it). Just the counterstrike was destroyed, not Zion! The fight continues!

This reviewer is COMPLETELY blind. Reloaded was GENIUS! We left The Matrix thinking that it was a perfect program that Neo had to overcome. We enter Reloaded with the same notion AND that it can upgrade it's agents. And we leave the movie knowing that the Matrix is a flawed program that is now in the "real" world.
Neo can't enter agents because of what happened to Smith. The dialogue, no more the the first, was necessary to explain how the Matrix really operates...Failed and unwanted programs not wanting to be deleted.
The fight scenes were unbelievably great. AND we are left with just as many questions as when the first one ended..

Let's wait for November to bring us Revolutions. If none of our questions are answered, then we can bitch. P.S. Matrix I and II have closely followed the classic trilogy formula. Almost always there is an evil character who turns good at the end. Do you think this will be agent Smith? Personally, I believe he was the previous One and he is a human was working for the Matrix in the first movie. Neo then freed him and now he is just a power-hungry human who hates everyone. It seems to explain a lot of things if you look at it that way. However, I can't explain the cloning process... if someone could help me out there, I'd love to hear it. My explanation is that the One is all powerful wether he knows it or not. That's why Neo is able to take out the Sentinels at the end of the movie. You see, the Architect never thought that the One would ever go through the door that Neo went through. He banked on the fact that humans would chicken out and flee and start Zion over again. Speaking of Zion, you are an idiot if you don't think it got destroyed. They said it did. What is this "it was only the counter-attack that failed" bull shit? Zion was destroyed, everyone died. Except Agent Smith who had taken on another form and is in the real world. Which proves the Agent Smith is the previous One Theory even more. How could a computer program be walking around in Zion? I'd love to hear your feedback.

First of all, I got the big impression you didn't understand the movie at all. And just because you didn't doesn't mean the movie sucked.
The whole thing with Agent Smith: He was an outdated program and he was copying himself so that he can continue to exist. The Oracle mentioned the whole thing with old programs...then right afterwords we had the Agent Smith scene. That wasn't a coindence, it was connected.
Why didn't Neo just fly away in the beginning of the fight with Agent Smith? Um...pride, plain and simple. He has been kicking all the Agents asses without breaking a sweat, and definelty kicked Agent Smith's ass many times...so he thought he could handle it. But in the end he couldn't.
Why couldn't he just fly in all the agents and destroy their code? Becuase the new agents were upgrades...I mean how would the movie been any good if all of bad guys were just blown up...it would have gotten boring after awhile.
The whole vampire/werewolves thing: that was addressed. The twinse were vampires/werewolves/mystical creatures. And as The Oracle said vamps/werewolves/angels are just renegrade programs. Well it sure didn't look like they were working with the Agents to me...so they fall in that catergory.
Why did Trinity and Morph run away leaving Neo to fight with the guys in the castle? Because they were after the Keymaker and he ran away. Plain and simple.
Why didn't Neo teach everyone how to do the things he could? Becuase HE'S the ONE. He's not the Teacher. And it seemed as though he didn't really know how he could do that stuff, just that he could do it. Plus then the movie would kinda have just ended with the first one if he did.
Why did Neo seem different in this one than the first one? Well because experiences change a person. He just seemed more confident and knowlegable that's all. I liked the growth.
If you didn't like the martial arts part of the movie, then why go see it? I thought it was common sense that there would be a lot of fight scenes "Matrix" style because...well it's the Matrix.
Why didn't they care that Zion was destroyed? Because it's a war...and that was one of the costs that they were prepared to take. If they whooped and hollared and all that stuff it wouldn't have been right. The whole point of the Zion "rave" was to celebrate their life at Zion BEFORE the war came, because they knew that not everyone would make it.
You must have missed the line when they were coming of the elevator in Zion about freeing people. "We have freed more people from the Matrix in the past 6 mos than we have in 6 years."
I thought the Hitler/Bush comparison was some funny shit.
You seem to be under the impression that this was supposed to be a movie that stands on it's own. Well that doesn't make sense considering it's the 2nd movie in a TRILOGY. Normally the 2nd movie continues what the first one set up and then sets up everything for the 3rd one.
Plus, the thing about expectations is that they are never, NEVER met. If you just walked in the movie expecting to be entertained then I don't think you would have had as many problems with it.

I did however enjoy the rest of the movie, especially the shit with the architect. If anybody else rewatched the first matrix after seeing reloaded, they would agree that the original is just more solid. As in it having a beginning, a middle, and an end. Whoever compared it to back to the future hit the nail on the head.

I've seen the movie twice and they said that they sent 5 ships to go secure or counterattack a certain area and somebody (bane) set off an emp that disabled the ships. It was those 5 ships that were destroyed with bane the only survivor. Zion is not destroyed because it was stated before they still had 9 more hours of digging to go.

I was disappointed by the fight scenes. The story always came to a crashing halt for them. That was true in the first movie, only now I never thought the heroes were in any danger. I never saw them take hits or get hurt, it had all the gravitas of watching a PC game. Hardly anyone acted like they thought Zion was really in peril. And why are people saying

First of all, I got the big impression you didn't understand the movie at all. And just because you didn't doesn't mean the movie sucked.
The whole thing with Agent Smith: He was an outdated program and he was copying himself so that he can continue to exist. The Oracle mentioned the whole thing with old programs...then right afterwords we had the Agent Smith scene. That wasn't a coindence, it was connected.
Why didn't Neo just fly away in the beginning of the fight with Agent Smith? Um...pride, plain and simple. He has been kicking all the Agents asses without breaking a sweat, and definelty kicked Agent Smith's ass many times...so he thought he could handle it. But in the end he couldn't.
Why couldn't he just fly in all the agents and destroy their code? Becuase the new agents were upgrades...I mean how would the movie been any good if all of bad guys were just blown up...it would have gotten boring after awhile.
The whole vampire/werewolves thing: that was addressed. The twinse were vampires/werewolves/mystical creatures. And as The Oracle said vamps/werewolves/angels are just renegrade programs. Well it sure didn't look like they were working with the Agents to me...so they fall in that catergory.
Why did Trinity and Morph run away leaving Neo to fight with the guys in the castle? Because they were after the Keymaker and he ran away. Plain and simple.
Why didn't Neo teach everyone how to do the things he could? Becuase HE'S the ONE. He's not the Teacher. And it seemed as though he didn't really know how he could do that stuff, just that he could do it. Plus then the movie would kinda have just ended with the first one if he did.
Why did Neo seem different in this one than the first one? Well because experiences change a person. He just seemed more confident and knowlegable that's all. I liked the growth.
If you didn't like the martial arts part of the movie, then why go see it? I thought it was common sense that there would be a lot of fight scenes "Matrix" style because...well it's the Matrix.
The whole point of the Zion "rave" was to celebrate their life at Zion BEFORE the war came, because they knew that not everyone would make it.
You must have missed the line when they were coming of the elevator in Zion about freeing people. "We have freed more people from the Matrix in the past 6 mos than we have in 6 years."
I thought the Hitler/Bush comparison was some funny shit.
You seem to be under the impression that this was supposed to be a movie that stands on it's own. Well that doesn't make sense considering it's the 2nd movie in a TRILOGY. Normally the 2nd movie continues what the first one set up and then sets up everything for the 3rd one.
Plus, the thing about expectations is that they are never, NEVER met. If you just walked in the movie expecting to be entertained then I don't think you would have had as many problems with it.

ifor the record, it was great! its too bad its suffering from a backlash that i think is unreasonable. that's not to say there aren't a few little tiny flaws, but even the best films have a few. not to mention the first matrix had its share. What I liked most about it was that all bets are off. Reloaded did a great job of unravelling everything we assumed we knew after finishing the first movie. now all bets are off for the 3rd film. DID ANYONE NOTICE THAT THE TRANSITION SHOT RIGHT BEFORE NEO'S FIRST INTERROGATION (IN THE 1ST MOVIE) WAS THE SAME ROOM THAT CONTAINED THE ARCHITECT? I thoughht it was just stylistic paranoia, but it turned out to be foreshadowing. Very cool indeed.

Reloaded is being called the Phantom Menace of the Matrix series, by many reviewers and fans. This certainly seems like a film that is going to divide the fanbase forever. Now another series that was considered the pinnacle of a movie making era has been turned into a fan franchise that only certain people will read into more deeply and enjoy. Reloaded is definetly not a film for everyone as was the case with films like The Phantom Menace. The film serves the purpose it's creators wanted it to serve but the series will never be the same. Many of the fan reactions of over loving it and over hating it echo of that time in 99. The bashes are similar and the defenses are so eerily the same.
Con "there is no plot"
Pro "it's just a setup for the next one"
Con "I felt nothing for the characters"
Pro "you're only disappointed because your expectations were too high"
Con "It's just a CGI fest, there is no heart"

Numerous questions to be answered at the ned of this movie....
The Oracle- She tells Neo that she is simply a program within the Matrix. If that is true, then shouldn't we assume that she is controlled by (or maybe has even been written by) the machines, and therefore has the machines survival as her #1 goal? So the Oracle might indeed be evil. I think the function of the Oracle is simply to try and control the anomaly (i.e. Neo). The Building- did anyone notice that when Neo went and saw the Oracle and when he saw the Archtitect, it appeared to be in the same hallway of doors??/ interesting. The Architect_ Neo is indeed the 6th The One. However, he is the first One that has chosen the other door-the door that guarantees that humanity will peril---or will they??? This is just what the program says. We know that the other path that the 5 other The One's have chosen does indeed allow humanity to exist, but it keeps humanity entrapped in the Matrix. perhaps Neo is the first The One. to actually make the right choice.

Look, I wasn't a big fan of the first Matrix for the same reasons that many seem to be putting down the second one. That is, the overwrought preachiness of the entire enterprise. How can you be put out by the long-winded speeches of the second one, when these same long-winded speeches constituted nearly the entire second act of part one?
Anyway, since I'm not a huge fan, I'm not up on my Matrix history, so if anyone can help me out with the answers to the following two questions, I'd appreciate it.
1). What happened to Tank? Link's Pus---, I mean girlfriend, in the second one says she lost two brothers on "that ship." I assume she means Dozer and Tank. But I thought Tank was alive at the end of the first Matrix, having survived Joey Pants' lightning gun.
2). Who the hell is that annoying young kid who hands Neo the spoon in Reloaded? The one that Trinity and Neo acknowledge is annoying. Neo saved this kid's life? I don't remember that from the first one. All I can think of is it's the little kid who bends the spoon at the Oracle's place in part one. But that doesn't make any sense, because that kid was much too young and Neo didn't save him at all.
Is there a comic book that takes place between the first and second movies that fills in these gaps? Is it explained in the Animatrix (haven't seen it), or are we just suppossed to wait for the third movie?
Someone please help me.
Help me, AICN talk-back. You're my only hope.

Well, I've just spent about two days reading everything. The review, the talkbacks and all. Firstly, I want to say that if you're going to review a movie from now on Harry pay a little more attention. You already probably know what you said wrong so there's no need to repeat it. Now, personally I thought this movie rocked. It certainly took what we thought and changed it around. I think that time will tell and the Wachowski's will make everything work out. C'mon, they're geniuses, but not just that, I know what I've seen and Revolutions is going to blow us all out of the water. Also, we've got to remember that this is only one half of a whole movie. If the bros. had their way, Revolutions would have been released this summer. It's one movie! We can't really, truly decide what kind of movie it is until we've seen the other half. My expectations for Reloaded were high, but it met them all the way. And there was a lot of CG, but what did you expect? The 100 Smiths scene would have been near impossible to film without it. I know little about the mythology, but Andy and Larry don't owe me anything. I think that they've surpassed all my expectations, and will continue to do so.

and I liked this movie but it doesnt suffer from the Back to the Future syndrome in that the contrast in tone is totally different it suffers from being alittle too pretentious and a bit long and wordy.
I dont mind speeches, I dont mind Heavy Drama or drawn overly long scenes but this was soooo wordy that you have to go back and re-watch it to take everything in and make sense of it all.
all this, if you believe you will be what you want to be Philosophical stuff got old especially coming from Morphius. I didnt find anything thing he was saying interesting.
Perhaps if it had been made more cohesive and they editors made it flow better, we wouldnt be hearing all this bitching.

Sounds like mlwarrior is alittle full of himself. He is basically saying, if you dont agree with me and liket the movie you have a low IQ.
Kinda sounds like Bush before we went to war.
I am right and you are wrong.LOL.

"The Matrix" rocked. At the end, it was/is allegory.
Reloaded may have departed from the allegory, but it's become classic sci-fi. We now have reason to question the suppositions we gained from the first film about the relatonship between reality (Zion) and artifice (the Matrix). Not the "truth" that the Architect provides, but the truth that Neo is starting to see.("Something is diferent.")
Flash back to your first viewing of The Matrix when Trinity says to Neo: "It's the question that drives us ... What is the Matrix?" This is at the heart of the three films, and we don't have the answer yet.
I'm willing to wait 6 months for the Brothers W to give their answer, if indeed they leave us with more than another question. In the mean time, I still relish the allegory of the first film as well as the classic sci-fi-ism of the 2nd. I like wanting the answer and not having it.
Both movies kicked ass.

Couldn't disagree with your review more. The themes clicked for me and I believed it all. The movie is a tough nut to crack - many themes and deeper levels of thinking - even more so than the first. I was completely engaged and I guess you can say that I just "got it". Too bad it didn't click for you - I think you would have enjoyed the movie much more. I think this movie will grow on people once they watch it a for a second or third time, and give it another chance to seep-in (just like the first one did for many).

You really hit the nail on the head with this review. I was so disappointed at the end of the movie. I had enjoyed the scene with the Oracle and about the last 20 minutes, but the rest was just a depressing waste of time for anyone with a functional brain...

At the french dudes restaraunt during his cause and effect orgasm speech, to the left of the orgasm cake girl is none other than steve mcqueen. did anyone else notice this and does anyone have any clue as to why the wachowskis added a seamless and digital steve mcqueen? its him without a doubt.

Apart from getting alittle lost towards the end, I was absolutely captivated with the film. If I had any expectations, it was that nothing would happen in this film except a lot of old boring no brain shit... which incedently I really expect from Terminator 3.

a couple of gallons of gas should be in a motorcycle's tank during transportation, because I don't think you'd wanna push the motorcycle from Italy, first on a boat and then on a truck. But if you want to bitch about illogical things in Reloaded, I'm sure you could find many others, because it's only a fucking movie and a sci-fi action movie for that matter, where people can fly and dodge bullets. Jeez I can understand that people don't like it or had hoped for other developments, but stop coming up with b.s. reasons why it is, objectively, suppossed not te be a good movie.

Quit talking about how you are the first fan or that you get scripts 2 years before anyone else! Nobody cares! Just review the goddamn movie! You're full of yourself! All you needed to say was that "I am better than this movie" and we would have got the message. You suck Harry

Zion wasn't destroyed. Thanks for clearing that up.
I WANT TO MAKE A BIG POINT THAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN MISSING:
Everything the Oracle told Neo in Matrix I was false! How you can you believe her so quickly with what she says in Reloaded? And why is everyone flat out believing everything the Architect had to say? Allow me to quote the great Grand Moff Tarkin, "You're far too trusting." The One has unbelievable powers, the Architect knew this and was shitting his pants. He made the choice of the two doors and he created it so that the One(s) would always go through the one where he could just restart Zion through. THE ARCHITECT WAS NOT BANKING ON NEO GOING BACK TO THE MATRIX TO TRY AND SAVE THE HUMAN RACE. I don't remember exactly what he said about Neo already having his choice made, but as I recall, he did NOT say that he KNEW what Neo was going to do. Correct me if I'm wrong. Your feedback is appreciated.

RELOADED made ATTACK OF THE CLONES look like THE GODFATHER 2.
The coolest kung fu and most amazing special effects in the world couldn't save this film from being boring, pretentious, overwrought, and embarassing. It made no sense (and I'm not referring to the didactics, I'm referring to the plot), as Harry pointed out.
If Neo can stop bullets, can't he stop Trinity from falling? Can't he heal her wounds? They're not real wounds anyway. Jesus. What a load of crap this movie was.

It sucks. All you fanboys just love getting off on Keanu in a black coat. It's pathetic. Why don't the Watchowski's employ people who can act? Is it because no actor with any cred would go near this piece of trash?

This movie was so much better than the first Matrix. You totally misunderstood the ending and felt let down because you were waiting for werewolves and vampires! WTF? Dude, you went to see The Matrix, not Son of Frankenstein or some such shit. This film succeeded on every level imagninable! How could you not be pleased with this? How could you not be entertained? Shit like Episode 2, Armageddon, Spy Kids, Flintstones 2 and Godzilla impresses you, and not this? Dude, you were either drunk when you saw Reloaded or you're taking cash from certain movie studios! What is your damage?

... does anyone else see this as 'the empire strikes back' of the trilogy. Neo, like Han Solo, is left in limbo, and we're left waiting for answers to many of the questions harry asks in his review. i would argue that harry wants to know EVERYTHING, which is silly since it's basically part one of a four-hour movie. personally, i thought it was great and it set up the last film perfectly. with a continuing storyline, who wants all the questions answered before the final film? maybe harry needs to reserve judgment until he sees the third film and how well it flows with the reloaded. if revolutions proves to be disappointing, then harry's review will have more validation.

matrix reloaded/revolution is solved!
It tool me 4 times to see it with slowmo and some repeats of certain parts to solve the equation!
First let me speek about the movie itself.
I will talk only about the important parts.
1) fight with 3 agents: He called them upgrades that means a code update and better features & fighting? well i cant see any upgrades so maybe there was something cut
2) zion: the first clues
c1) spoon we learned in matrix that there is no spoon to zion is virtual
c2) sleep the people have problems to sleep thats a clear sign of virtual
c3) machines we see here to machines thats a clear sign of virtual
c4) lack of knowledge most of the zions are like hippies who can use something but never develop clear sign of loaded virtual (lack of deeper wisdom)
c5) smith a software cannot cross the border of reality to clear sign of virtual
ergo all zion is virtual another kind of control
btw all the zion stuff was gay (they could cut out 40 minutes like nothing)
3) oracle: she sends neo to the source "then yout way has ended" by the time she reveals herself as a part of the matrix/controll she cannot control neo the anomalie anymore
his way will not end at the source so ultimatley she failed
4) agent smith: i like that fight even it was litte gay (no blood nobody was ko like everybody was invincable)
we learn just few things agend smith has the best dialoge with frenshmen he is "connected" with neo he can multiply himself and act like a virus
i think he has some code of neo so neo is immune to his "software" attack
5) frenshmen even he is very cool i see no purpose in him he tells some stories about casue and effect anyway we will see that neo is pushed again to another place
6) keymaker well he is just a storyteller to push neo more the way he has tp go
btw in the frenshmen house we can see some ghosts vampires etc oracle was speaking baout (hint "silver bullet can kill you")
unlike agents these creatures can bend the rules and have features like neo flying running wall etc
7) car chase: unimportant gives nothing to story just some eye candy even far too long gets booring after time you dont want to see broken car after 15 minutes of broken cars
8) architect: until here neo was thinking he is free but he was under close control and push exacactly to this place he he first realized the truth that everything about shoice was a lie
the architect extect now from neo to go back to the source and fullfill his duty complety the cycle and the "story" and start a ner zion for the 7th matrix/zion
but even the architect was wrong because something he cannot put in maths thats simple chemical LOVE
this love frees neos mind the 2nd time (1st time was in matrix after he yould see the matrix) and now he is first time able to choose!
9) zion2: noe free and teh system loosing cntroll of him he sees the virtual zion and stops the sentinels with his hand
revolution:
we see a fight between the matrix and zion but beacause the fight is based on the matrix it cannot win by war
to fight software you have to put anomilation inside the code only this can bring the matrix down
i suspect he will use the multiple angent smith for that he is like a virus can copy his code and has a connection to neo he will use that to destroy/crash the mainframe
this will be made by a overload of bad software into the mainfram who destroys the order = crash the mainframe and end finally the war
some other things:
two times the word "ergo" is used thats a new record for a mainstream HW movie
acting/dialogue of agent smith/frenshmen is cool
acting/dialogue of neo is nonexistent
trinity is would choose a more beatiful girl to show how powerful love can be
the fights of matrix1 have been much better (fights in mr are long and getting booring because anyway everybody is immortal)
the twins are somewhat cool despite the havent been used very good (knife stabbing of them was gay)
first two sentence of morpheus he make two sentence of about 100 works without taking breath or acting (sounds pretty gay)

matrix reloaded/revolution is solved! It took me 4 times to see it with slowmo and some repeats of certain parts to solve the equation! First let me speak about the movie itself. I will talk only about the important parts. 1) Fight with 3 agents: He called them upgrades that mean a code update and better features & fighting? well I cant see any upgrades so maybe there was something cut 2) Zion: the first clues c1) spoon we learned in matrix that there is no spoon to Zion is virtual c2) sleep the people have problems to sleep that

They said that old programs are sent back to the source to be destroyed...if you believe that Zion is a "matrix inside a matrix" and go with the Neo=program theory (thats pretty much what "Enter The Matrix" hints at)...so if the Oracle was another tool for the architect, could it be that they are sending Neo to the source to destroy himself...yeah, I think I'm thinking too much into it....I'll just wait for Revolutions...

Seperated at birth? I doubt it. Harry proves once again that knowing a lot about movies and MAKING one have nothing in common. Sure he has 8,000 tapes, but has he EVER made anything other than repressed sexual angst driven comments about his own personal wet dreams? Though not.

Someone on another forum said that the Wachowski's should've directed the Star Wars prequels and it made me think of this.
If the bros wrote the prequels Anakin would walk into a room where Palpatine is sitting. Then in a flat droning voice Palpatine would tell him that if he doesn't go bad and help wipe out all the Jedi then his unborn son won't be able to grow up to destroy the Empire.
Then he, obi wan, padme and Jar Jar would all grind together in a dirty Coruscant nightclub.
And Darth Vader would defeat the Jedi using Kung fu while swinging his lightsaber but not actually using it on anyone.

Lathe! I love the comments! You brightened an otherwise dull day.
Hey! Somebody respond to this!
Agent Smith is human.
He is a previous One.
That's how he gets into Zion.
His incentive to kill is because he is power hungry and obviously feels threatened by Neo.
Why would Agent Smith (if he was a program) want to be freed from the Matrix and not work for them? What was that all about?
Respond.

lathe/rebornasglass has been trolling every message board he can find with his "hey this sucks, so everybody forgive Phantom Menace" bullshit. I don't get it, why are you so insecure, are you compensating for something?

folks this is getting ridiculous.
someone having an opposing viewpoint to your own does not in any way reduce the strength or validity of your own opinions.Reviews are only ever the perspective and perogative of the writer, they will never change the substance, the content or the intent of the film(or whatever else) reviewed. The sheer
delight that some of you take in announcing your own opinions on reloaded's faults or merits seems
grounded more in glee that a certain group of people will somehow have their hopes or expectations dashed by the film. this is so fucking boring to wade through and seems utterly pointless to me. What possible benefit is there in blasting each other on a personal level for either liking or not liking the film? and endless reels of comments ripping into Harry's appearance-why? You think somehow
this will change his opinion?
why get so enraged when you meet an opposing viewpoint?
You have to understand that anyone
who creates any form of artistic
output-be it films, music, whatever:- is primarily creating for themselves- you make the sort of film or music you would want to see/hear yourself- some others may like it , some may love it and invariably some will hate it, those who hate are usually the type who cannot see any merit whatsoever within another person or persons abilities to create.THis seems to stem from a massive lacking in their own creativity. HOw many of you so readily insulting the film and each other have ever tried to create anything? -be it a movie, a website ( like the one you use to blast the person who gave you the space in the first place) or fucking anything at all.Don't just spectate and commentate on other peoples output, try making some of your own.You just might find yourself evolving.
Realise that what the Wachowski
bros have achieved is within the reach of anyone willing to try hard enough for long enough.LIke the film or hate it-your minds are your own,just keep your comments in fucking perspective.
PLease, this gets really dull when it descends into "fuck you harry", I bet every one of you blasting the film and him use this site to get all the details of the movies you end up ripping into.What do they say about biting the hand that feeds?

I was expecting sooo much from this movie and got absolutely nothing! Talk about a 'hype machine', that's the only thing this movie has going for it! Nemesis was better than this shit! That ending was so fucking lame, what was the significance of that dude!? Harry was right on the money about what a colossal disappointment this waste of time, money, and energy this thing was!

Every other round is a blank with "Matrix Reloaded." I expected hollow points with this film and I only got tracer rounds. Harry was dead on. The rave was ridiculous and, if the Warchoski's (sorry for the spelling, gents) are going to be taking Revelations to the obvious end that Reloaded suggests, then they phoned the whole thing in. There are a lot of posts trying to defend this release. That's a lot of fanboys wishing that this film were more than it actually is.
Not to sound too negative, there were some good points to the flick. "Matrix Retread-ed," however, would have been a better title.

OK. Matrix Reloaded opened in the UK tonight and I was there for the first showing in my local cinema. I had tried so hard not to read too much before I went to see the film tonight to avoid spoilers etc but managed to catch a few reviews and I was surprised to read that the general consensus was that it wasn't so good. I put these negative reviews down to the fact that there was so much anticipation for this film that it was, (like the star wars prequels), a victim of its own hype (although to be blunt eps 1 & 2 were dire on top of all that). I knew it could never outstrip the first film for originality and what I like to call awe factor, but I went into the cinema this evening with open mind thinking that it could, at the very least, be as good as the first film; after all it

What the hell movie were you watching? First of all by Neo's "free your mind" comment he meant free from the Matrix. That he was going to wake them up from their sleeps. I doubt he meant he was going to give classes on how to break code. Second, to compare this to Last Action Hero? Never did the Oracle say there'd be Vampires, Demon, Werewolves etc.. She was using that as a metaphore as to how the Matrix explained rogue programs to the very people Neo's trying to free. If that's what you wanted to see then maybe you should have waited until League of Extraordinary Gentlemen hit theaters. And as for the fight with Smith, Merovingian, The Twins, maybe your goblins & ghouls and everything else your wondering about that was waiting for and never saw.... Well, why don't we wait to Revolutions hits and see if all your hopes come true. Because remember one thing, Reloaded and Revolutions are actually one big movie divided into two. And as with all movies, they save the best for last, which means the best is yet to come!! Just watch the trailer for Revolutions. It'll make you yearn for more. And If your STILL not satisfied, well then get yourself the script for Reloaded and Revolutions as you did with the first part of the great trilogy. Maybe THEN you'll get it!

ok so i havent read all the stuff on here to see if its been said, but did the guy at the very end of the matrix reloaded look alot like more like cypher then the agent smith possed guy? doesnt realy make sence to me but ive seen it twice and i swear its cypher.

Guys..... You could dissect, discuss and theorize for hours what happened in Reloaded and what will happen to Neo and Co. in the next movie..
However, have any of you seen the Animatrix? If not, take a look! The brothers were heavily involved in its production and some things from those 9 mini films have come across into Reloaded.. The Kid who keeps bugging Neo when he arrives back in Zion.. He is a character in one of the films for example.
It makes you wonder just how many other hints are hidden within these short anime films that are linked to the actual movies.
Oh.. and before you start to get your heart set on one idea being the truth - be prepared for some twists in the third movie.

...I CAN'T be the only one that caught that... dear God if it had been any more obvious I would have pissed and moaned that it was too obvious... wait... no I DID piss and moan that it was to obvious.
You're all being played by the programmer, same as she played Neo M and Trin...
You need to watch that scene again...
It DID serve a purpose, though it was set up to make you think it was superfluous. Badly I thought... but no one seems to have said anything...

While predominantly I agree with Metatron's viewpoints of the film itself, I find it amusing someone calling themselves metatron talking about someone ELSES ego...
...and here's a dilemna... if you insist the film is good, and is implying that Zion is not real, you are then acknowleding the potentially lame 13th Floor rip off... Not to say 13 owned that idea, but that that idea is not only cliche, but also freshly excercised...
...as I described recently... the Wachowski's decision to go with more pixels than people was grotesquely over-used... wehnever they went "Square" (as in Square Software), it became the adventuries of Barbie "Hunky Scowling Keanu" and Barbie "Nasty Grimacing Hugo"... news flash to all the idiots out there who keep giving these digital-doubles so much damned air time... They look good... but they don't look THAT good... and here's an idea... when something looks slightly less than real... don't SLOW DOWN the action to give the viewer more time to notice... The overplayed scene of the agent jumping on the car hood, from the trailer... What did the Cyber-Double do that couldn't have been done with the actor on wires and a greenscreen... he jumped... and landed... for THIS we need to use an artificial actor? Spend millions to build a freeway, then populate it with characters from a $50 video game... BRILLIANT!
Sigh... ok... I'm better... flame away...

Zion is NOT destroyed, as you suggested in your review. What happened is the humans launched a counter-attack against the machines, but were massacred when an EMP blast immobilised their ships. I suggest that next time, before you launch an attack against what is truly a great film, you give some thought into what you are saying. You're obviously one of those people who, as you so insightfully defined "...go in and you don

First off this post is long and I'm sure no one is going to read everything here but I will not offer my opinions about the end or what I think will happen I just am adding two things I don't think people (everyone) has gleamed from Reloaded yet. 1. The show us the ghosts (the twins), the aliens (when programs get cloaned like agent smith), the vampire, (hello-persephone thats why there is a cut away to that classic vampire movie during her moment with the gun, she also sucks Neos ? for a while very sensual like a vampire), and then the werewolfs are the two earlier programs that she said could only be killed with silver bullets. So they are there Reloaded was awesome I think everything will be satisfied with number three. I know it is all planned perfectly because number 2. We see a shot of the architects room in movie one, right before Neo gets interrogated by agent smith we see Neo sitting at the desk on several monitors compleate with the nifty static reverb on the screens of the tv as we push in on Neos image. They showed us this location in movie one, it is not out of nowhere. The Warchowskis know what they are doing.

Either you are the funniest man on the planet or you are simply a fucking retard.
If you read what i had to say about the 2nd matrix film you would realise i'm not some fag fan boy who's raving on about the "series" as you like to call it. When a film is shit i say it's shit and the second matrix film is total shit. But in terms of complete shitness, nothing can compare to the new star wars films. Obviously it's you are one of those sheltered men who just love to watch star wars over and over again and put Jedi down as a religion on cencus forms and job applications. Let me guess, you still live with your parents? The fact that you deify lucas and his work, even tho most of it's total shit, is reason enough for skywalker ranch to spew out any old crud. Along with the hype, over eager fanboys like you ensure its a box office smash, so why should directors and producers bother to make a decent movie anymore. To wrap this up, grimloch, dont come in here slagging a film off just because it makes you feel better about the claptrap you worship. If you have something constructive to say then say it..but otherwise no one gives a flying fuck for your opinion on star wars in a talkback forum about The Matrix. If theres a star wars forum somewhere i'd be happy to piss on your parade all day long. Go get therapy, find a woman, get a life and chill the fuck out.

This may have been mentioned else where ( too many talkbacks to read already!), but surly the reason why Neo didn't just "tear smith apart from the inside" is because as this movie shows, this didn't in fact destroy smith, it allowed him to become a rouge program and altogether more dangerous opponent.....

There is alot of aditional footage in the game that is seamlessly weaves itself in and out of the movie. Do you want to know why Niobe really chose to go check on the Neb? Do you want to see more of the Key makers machinations? I am telling you the game reveals alot. I am going to leave you with two things that should whey your appetite....Roy Jones fights Seraph....and Persephone kisses Niobe......nuff said.....The Brothers IMHO should be commended for successfully creating an experience that is far greater than the sum of its parts...its not just hype...to fully appreciate Reloaded you HAVE to play the game!

I have not seen the Matrix Reloaded yet but one thing we should get out of the way now is all this talk of expectation. I for one am sick of hearing people saying "well its a Hollywood action movie, it will have no story, just go in watch the effects.... What else do you expect?" Well I believe we should 'expect' quite a bit. More money is spent on these films than we can possibly imagine.
Don

Neo has to be a fag. Hesitating when offered the chance to kiss Monica Bellucci? Uh naw, I'd rather sleep with this butch chick who looks like me rather that smooch a hottie with some nice t&a. Any red blooded straight male would jump at the chance to kiss Monica Bellucci. Trinity looks like a friggin man, man.

Saw Reloaded last night and the first half hour was pretty terrible - it was like a bad soap opera and the dialogue was on Phantom Menace levels.
Yeah, there was plenty of cool stuff but a lot of it had no bearing on the story.
Overall verdict: it looked very expensive

I've spent some time reading the reviews/comments about this movie. This is what I think. The movie is awesome. It's better then the first one. I'm not going to get into a long discussion why it is since most of the points have been already mentioned in other posts. What I will say is that you "need" to understand the movie. It has many introduces many concepts about the "matrix", "the matrix within a matrix", "choice", "control" etc. The first movie just told us about the "matrix" but it was very brief. We knew that it was "a computer generated dream world", we knew it was a form of "control". In The Matrix Reloaded these concepts are explained further and new ones are brought in as well. This movie reveals more about what the "matrix's " purpose is, the one's purpose, the oracle , agent smith etc. I liked this movie a lot , and the more I read into the well thought out comments the more I liked it. Truthfully the "philosophy" threw people off , including myself. This is why I believe people didn't like the movie. I mean if you don't really understand what's going on , how can you say you like it. Just think about that.

I have never heard such geek whining before in my life. Personally I thought Reloaded was a bit on the lame side, the dialogue was simplistic, whilst trying to sound complicated. The speech Morpheus gives in Zion is one of the worst scenes I've seen in film since Pearl Harbor. But at any rate, about Harry's misconceptions about the Oracle's speech. She doesn't say you WILL see these things, she says that whenever you hear stories about vampires, werewolves, and ghosts it's just a rogue program doing something it's not supposed to. So, while watching the picture I looked for clues, here's what I've come up with, Monica Belucci is the vampire, a vampire seeking emotions not blood. The Key Maker's guards are werewolves, they can only be killed by silver bullets. Most obviously the Twins are the ghosts. I think it's odd that Harry, going to see a movie as "complex" as The Matrix, would think they would just put a guy with fangs who wants to "Suck your Code", or actually have a shapeshifting piece of code that would change into a wolf. At least give the Wachowski's a little credit for having SOME sense of subtlety.

I will admit that there were some great ideas in the matrix reloaded and Morovingian makes a good point about the exploration of these ideas in his post. It a shame that Larry and Andy had to overdo it. Its all well and good to have philosopy in your movie but most of it was babble and there was far too much babble for the films own good. What was the point of the scene in the restaurant? or that friggin zion rave scene; what kind of chemicals were Larry and Andy indulging in when they came up with that? And the scene with the architect, man it reminded me of when i tried to watch The Game when i was stoned. It had such a cool concept...its a shame they didnt think to do it in English..perhaps cinemas should give out a manual with each ticket purchased.

I'm just reading the post from Uncle Sam. I must admit I dind't see the movie in this mutch detail as he described it. Since I didn't really get it. But I did have an "idea" of what it was about. However since reading Uncle Sams's post it all makes sense now. The clues are there just have to know how to put them together. The obvious one is Neo having his "powers" in the "real world" zion. I think everyone else should read Uncle Sam's post and really think about what is being said. Then with that you can make a more informed comment about the movie. This is a movie that makes people "think", but I guess for some it's just not their cup of tea :(

Why is everything compared to SW?? I'm so fucking bored of hearing "it's not as good as SW!". Judge it (what ever 'it' is) on it's own merits.
My opinion: The Matrix Reloaded is a great film. Some amazing bits...some poor moments...but nothing bad enough to detract from an overall top experience. I came out of the cinema buzzing...much like I did when I saw the original...and that's all I care about.

Ok this kinda has nothing to do with Reloaded...but in a way it does, cuz it's about the whole matrix story. What I don't understand is why Neo could be freed in the "real" world anyway. The machines use the humans as batteries right? So why make tunnels for him to glide into, so he can escape? Why not lock each cell so nobody can escape. And I dont really understand why the Matrix could not be "perfect". Smith said something about us humans not handeling it...I kinda forgot what he really said so if someone could fill me in on that..thanks. But anyway It's for the machines' own good that people live longer, so they can extract more power. So if the world was perfect people would live longer..no murders, no sickness, no nothing, so more power for the machines. I could be wrong, and i will surely admit it if someone clears it for me. Btw I loved the Matrix, and liked Reloaded. But not movies that really make u think, like American History X, Magnolia or Requiem for a Dream. But then again these movies should not be compared with the matrix, but just wanted to point out that those movies really made me think, and that Reloaded only blew my mind with the special effects (loved that Ducati scene).

This is a brilliant concept. As I've said in my other two posts. The clues are there, subtle , some obvious , but you have to "think" about what's going on. This movie is made to make you think and for that alone is worth watching it again and again... I thought of this after watching the first movie, I said to myself what if they are still in the matrix when they are supposedly in the "real world" witch is Zion. Once again I emphasize reading Uncle Sams posts and thinking about "real world" being an extention of the matrix concepts, looking at the clues in the movie. I believe that all these ideas will be revealed in the last movie. The matrix has you! Brilliant!

The point you mention was actually touched upon in the first film while smith was interrogating Morpheus. He explained that a perfect world was provided for the humans; probably for the reasons you touched upon in your post. The problem was that people wouldnt accept the program because we as a species cannot believe anything that's too good to be true. In effect we couldnt live without the suffering and pain we inflict on one another. Deep stuff eh? Which i suppose is why i feel so let down with this sequel...if Larry and Andy Wachowski could explain something as meaningful as that in plain english..why couldnt they do it in reloaded.

The Matrix Reloaded (**** out of ****)
by Cedric M. Grant
There is no spoon. There is no prophecy. And there is no collection of words traditionally called a review to explain the utter mind-**** that is

"Hello Neo."
"Who are you?"
"I am the Architect. I created the Matrix. I've been waiting for you. You have many questions and although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human, ergo some of my answers you will understand and some of them you will not. Concordantly while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize that it also the most irrelevant."
"Why am I here?"
"Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the Matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomoly which despite my sincerest efforts I've been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided it is not unexpected and thus not beyond a measure of control. Which has led you inexorably... here."
"You haven't answered my question."
"Quite right. Interesting... that was quicker than the others."
Now Neo's other selves in the monitors start asking all sort of questions, like "Others? What others?", etc...
"The Matrix is older than you know. I prefer counting from the emergence of one integral anomoly to the emergence of the next in which case this is the sixth version."
Now the others Neo's start cursing and calling him a liar as we zoom into one of the Neo's on the screen who says...
"There are either two possible explanations... either no one told me... or no one knows."
"Precisely. As you are undoubtedly gathering, the anomoly is systemic, creating fluctuations in even the most simplistic equations."
Now the other Neo's start screaming "You can't control me! I'm gonna smash you..." etc...
The camera again zooms into another Neo in the center screen...
"Choice. The problem is choice."
"The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect. It was a work of art. Flawless. Sublime. A triumph equalled only by its monumental failure. The inevitablility of its doom as aparent to me now is a consequence of the imperfection inherent in every human being. Thus I redesigned it... based on your history. To more accurately reflect the varying grotesqueries of your nature. However I was again frustrated by failure. I've since come to understand the answer alluded me because it required a lesser mind or perhaps a mind less bound by the parameters of perfection. Thus the answer was stumbled upon by another... an intuitive program. Initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche. If I am the father of the Matrix... she would undoubtedly be its mother."
"The Oracle."
"Please. As I was saying she stumbled upon a solution whereby 99 percent of all test subjects accepted the program as long as they were given a choice. Even if they were only aware of the choice at a near unconscious level. While thid answer functioned, it was obviously fundamentally flawed, thus creating the otherwise contradictory... systemic anomoly... That if left unchecked might threaten the system itself. Ergo, those that refuse the program, while a minority, if unchecked would constitute an escalating probability of disaster."
"This is about Zion."
"You are here because Zion is about to the destroyed. Its every living inhabitant terminated, its entire existance eradicated."
"Bull****"... the other Neo also say "Bull****."
"Denial is the most predicatable of all human responses. But rest assured... this will be the 6th time we have destroyed it. And we have become exceedingly efficient at it."
Now there's Trinity fighting the Agent.
"The function of the One is now to return to the source allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program. After which you will be required to select from the Matrix, 23 individuals, 16 female, 7 male to rebuild Zion. Failure to comply with this process will result in a cataclysmic system crash, killing everyone connected to the Matrix, which coupled with the extermination of Zion will ultimately result in the extinction of the entire human race."
"You wont let it happen, you can't. You need huamn beings to survive."
"There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept. However the relevant issue is whether or not you are ready to accept the responsibility for the death of every human being in this world."
Architect clicks his pen and the screens change to various human beings.
"It is interesting reading your reactions. Your five predecessors were, by design, based on a similar predication, a contigent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of the One. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific... vis-a-vis... love."
"Trinity."
"She entered the Matrix to save your life, at the cost of her own."
"No."
"Which brings us at last, to the moment of truth, where the fundamental flaw is ulimately expressed and the anomoly revealed as both beginning... and end. There are two doors. The door to your right leads to the source and the salvation of Zion. The door to your left leads back to the Matrix, to her and to the end of your species. As you eloquently put, the problem is choice. But we already know what you are going to do, don't we? Already I can see the chain reaction, the chemical precursors that signal the onset of an emotion, designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason, and emotion that is already blinding you from the simple and obvious truth... she is going to die and there's nothing you can do to stop it."
Neo takes the door to the left, but stops before leaving as Architect says...
"Hope... it is the quinisential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness."
"If I were you, I would hope that we don't meet again."
"We wont."

"I am the Architect. I created the Matrix. I've been waiting for you. You have many questions and although the process has altered your consciousness, you remain irrevocably human, ergo some of my answers you will understand and some of them you will not. Concordantly while your first question may be the most pertinent, you may or may not realize that it also the most irrelevant.". ....
Simply added to let the audience know that he's inside a computer where the normal laws of the Matrix don't apply but he's maintained his personality. ....
"Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of the Matrix. You are the eventuality of an anomoly which despite my sincerest efforts I've been unable to eliminate from what is otherwise a harmony of mathematical precision. While it remains a burden assiduously avoided it is not unexpected and thus not beyond a measure of control. Which has led you inexorably... here." .....
Basically this is saying that no matter what the machines do there is and will always be humans that subconsciously reject the Matrix. .....
"The Matrix is older than you know. I prefer counting from the emergence of one integral anomoly to the emergence of the next in which case this is the sixth version." .....
I believe that this is all true and literal. .....
"Precisely. As you are undoubtedly gathering, the anomoly is systemic, creating fluctuations in even the most simplistic equations." .....
Again in time subconsciously some would reject the Matrix .....
"The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect. It was a work of art. Flawless. Sublime. A triumph equalled only by its monumental failure. The inevitablility of its doom as aparent to me now is a consequence of the imperfection inherent in every human being. Thus I redesigned it... based on your history. To more accurately reflect the varying grotesqueries of your nature. However I was again frustrated by failure. I've since come to understand the answer alluded me because it required a lesser mind or perhaps a mind less bound by the parameters of perfection. Thus the answer was stumbled upon by another... an intuitive program. Initially created to investigate certain aspects of the human psyche. If I am the father of the Matrix... she would undoubtedly be its mother."
"The Oracle."
"Please. As I was saying she stumbled upon a solution whereby 99 percent of all test subjects accepted the program as long as they were given a choice. Even if they were only aware of the choice at a near unconscious level. While this answer functioned, it was obviously fundamentally flawed, thus creating the otherwise contradictory... systemic anomoly... That if left unchecked might threaten the system itself. Ergo, those that refuse the program, while a minority, if unchecked would constitute an escalating probability of disaster."
"This is about Zion." .....
Ok I do think that they are talking about a second layer to the Matrix. That is how Smith can enter it through someone elses body and that is how Neo was able to down those machines with his thought. The Oracle created Zion to basically fool those that rejected the Matrix by letting them think that they'd escaped. .....
"You are here because Zion is about to the destroyed. Its ev
ery living inhabitant terminated, its entire existance eradicated."
"Bull****"... the other Neo also say "Bull****."
"Denial is the most predicatable of all human responses. But rest assured... this will be the 6th time we have destroyed it. And we have become exceedingly efficient at it." .....
Again literal. .....
"The function of the One is now to return to the source allowing a temporary dissemination of the code you carry, reinserting the prime program. After which you will be required to select from the Matrix, 23 individuals, 16 female, 7 male to rebuild Zion. Failure to comply with this process will result in a cataclysmic system crash, killing everyone connected to the Matrix, which coupled with the extermination of Zion will ultimately result in the extinction of the entire human race." .....
Really the machines don't know what is going to happen if he doesn't do it. They figure all human beings will die when the Matrix falls apart. They figure that if the humans are suddenly stripped of their reality as they know it then they'll die...but Neo is going to somehow change that and wake them all up before that happens. Essentially the theme is that no one can really truly control your mind. They can pull the wool over your eyes but if you're strong enough they can't keep doing it to your forever. It's sorta like a think for yourself ideal. .....
"You wont let it happen, you can't. You need huamn beings to survive."
"There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept. However the relevant issue is whether or not you are ready to accept the responsibility for the death of every human being in this world."
Architect clicks his pen and the screens change to various human beings.
"It is interesting reading your reactions. Your five predecessors were, by design, based on a similar predication, a contigent affirmation that was meant to create a profound attachment to the rest of your species, facilitating the function of the One. While the others experienced this in a very general way, your experience is far more specific... vis-a-vis... love."
"Trinity."
"She entered the Matrix to save your life, at the cost of her own."
"No."
"Which brings us at last, to the moment of truth, where the fundamental flaw is ulimately expressed and the anomoly revealed as both beginning... and end. There are two doors. The door to your right leads to the source and the salvation of Zion. The door to your left leads back to the Matrix, to her and to the end of your species. As you eloquently put, the problem is choice. But we already know what you are going to do, don't we? Already I can see the chain reaction, the chemical precursors that signal the onset of an emotion, designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason, and emotion that is already blinding you from the simple and obvious truth... she is going to die and there's nothing you can do to stop it." .....
The machines are not good with anomalies. They have limited thinking. They are machines it's either yes or no not maybe...blah blah blah They are used to ones and zeros not 3s. Trinity being that anomaly that sets Neo apart from the other ones. .....
Neo takes the door to the left, but stops before leaving as Architect says...
"Hope... it is the quinisential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness."
"If I were you, I would hope that we don't meet again."
"We wont." .....
So again love saves the day. How mindbending is that? It's not. Just mindbending how they presented that answer to us. Mindbending that you had to sit and listen to the plot other then discovering it for yourself. Machines cannot love and that theme is hinted at with the Persephony (sp?) kiss scene.
See it's quite simple and not really mind bending at all. The whole Matrix within a matrix thing is too over the top and reminds me of something someone overly stoned would come up with. And I do truly feel that the Matrix within a Matrix is the supposed "twist". Otherwise what is the twist people keep talking about? That there were other Neos? So...they said that before and it's not that interesting either. It's NOT deep if you think it is tell me how it is. I haven't heard anyone come up with the how. I just gave you the how it is not.

I don't believe it is. Given the twists in the first two movies, I doubt the third will be so simple.
Instead, what I believe is that Neo has somehow evolved. Being the sixth, "The One", changes have occured. He is now part human and part machine. Because of this, he has some powers in the Real World. Note that these powers are very different than his powers in the Matrix.
As for Agent Smith. He says that when Neo killed him he left part of himself inside of him. So Smith is now part human and part machine too. This is how he is able to go into the Matrix.
I think there is an underlying message in the movie that machines and humans must work together. The conversation between Neo and te councilman (about controling the "machines" in Zion), the Oracle (who is a machine) stating that "...we need to work together...", etc.

This taken from IMDB.com
Keanu Reeves Braves Rain for Fans
"Keanu Reeves didn't let the rain prevent him from spending half an hour chatting to fans at the London premiere of The Matrix Reloaded last night. Fans queued for hours just to get a glimpse of their screen idol, and the hunky actor didn't disappoint them. Wearing a black suit and white shirt he withstood the pouring rain, fleeting from fan to fan to sign autographs and pose for photographs. The star, who put a lot of his own money into the film - which has grossed $150 million in its first week - spent 30 minutes rewarding those who had waited so long. He said, "I wish I could have stayed out longer. It's absolutely fantastic. It's extraordinary. Some people have been really anxious for this film to come out and I just hope it lives up to their expectations." . But co-star Laurence Fishburne was less appreciative of the premiere and rating it from one and five, he could only give it a two"

(1) How there are now two 'Agent Smith's -- the one that was unraveled by Neo in the first movie, and now assymilates others (ie., the one without the earpiece), and the old, take-over-nearby-programs / people security agent as seen in the chase scene.
(2) Zion is the "real world" for 99% of the 1% who reject the matrix..."there is no spoon" after all. (BTW, how can they build all those machines, but still make spoons that look like they come from wooden molds???)
(3) There were more than 5 Neo's on the screens with the creator-guy....and they all look like Neo (if they were unique constructs, wouldn't genetics dictate that they weren't identical?)
(4) All the Neo's seem to be heading toward the same door; if the situation was identical, isn't Neo making the same choice as all the other Neos?
(5) Throughout the fight scene with 'unplugged' Smith, Neo could have flown away at any point....expecting that the whole time kills the scene.
(6) Matrix Reloaded is not the world's greatest movie...neither is the first one...but the movie succeeds in making people think about all the topics within this thread.
(7) I just hope that The Hulk is (at least) this good; none of Ang Lee's additions to the comic storyline seem to actually improve the product (and most seem to go the other way).
Thus concludes my first talkback post. (Carrie Ann Moss is the Sexiest Tomboy Beanpole on the planet.)

I think we all are in agreement that in fact oracle is not the mother of the matrix. I believe in fact that persphone is the mother of the matrix think about it. The architect tells neo that the answer was discoverd by an intutive program and that answer was that if huamns were given a choice even if it was at the unconcious level 99 percent of the humans would accept the matrix programing. Wasnt persphone the one offering a choice to neo, kiss me or never find the key maker. Wasnt she married to a man that ranted amd raved about choice and cause and effect. I don't know if this is relevent to the movie at all I guess we will have to wait for revolutions

I've seen the M:R twice now, and I have to admitt all this fan boy storm in a tea-cup shit is fairly amusing. You have all be SO caught up in your little masturbatory fantasies from the first film over the past four years, it pains and shocks some of you to discover that the Brothers haven't been reading your minds and agreeing with all the cute little plot twists you could come up with. Hate to break it to you, but they can't make a different movie to please everyone! I have to admit, I did find this movie a bit... uncomfortable. But isn't that an effect from the problem we all suffer from: so ground breaking was the first film, we loved it SO much that we had placed blind and absolute faith in the Brothers. Truth is, they did pretty good considering all the expectation they had around this movie. Seems as if we're holding this MOVIE - and come on folks, thats all it is - up to the types of philosphies the first movie itself exposed us to. Yes, this is a money making endeavor. No shit. The first one was too, or have you forgotten that? Personally, I don't think we can wax lyrical and bitch and whine about anything yet. This movie (or half a movie) can't be held up to the same scrutiny we held the first movie up to. What would we have said if they stopped the first movie when Neo 'discovers' he isn't the one? Or when he dies. Come on guys... have some insight here. Not that I'm beleiving Revolutions will blow everything out of the water and return the world to the ecstacy we've all been living in having soft-porn dreams about what Matrix was all about, but I do think we have to give the movie, the franchise, the brothers and ourselves a chance to digest where the last film goes. Rather than bitch and moan about what was introduced in this film, and why you don't like it, consider where it's going. We put faith like that in the first film, why be surprised if we don't do that now and get a little dissapointed. Hate to break it to you, but Morpheus ISN'T Luther King, Neo ISN'T the Messiah and Trinity isn't going to be your sex slave or anything else. These are characters that belong to the Brothers and if we want to watch it, we have to accept where it's going. Fine, disagree or don't, but it's not some cataclysmic event in the greater universe. MR introduced some mind-bending concepts and I reckon the major reason why we were so uneasy with it was cos it's challenged the first film, which is untouchable! RIght? I dunno... I've seen the first one a few times, and it's mindblowing, fine, but it isn't absolute. Neither is this one. Don't try and live your life and construct opinions based on the 'new enlightened souls' you all became after watching the first one. Shatter your expectations on everything, and allow this film and the next one to take you somewhere new, just like the first one did. There were no Vampires (and if there were I would have walked out there and then) and fine, some of the scenes were hard to believe and some of the effects could have been better, but it was still special effects porn, and the story line has a lot to offer. I'm loving all these different explanations we're all coming up with, but jus enjoy this film for what it is. A mind f*ck... maybe not as beautiful a mind f*ck as we all thought the first one was, but it's not like the first movie was in intself a major reistance to any unseen force or anything. It was just a movie too. I'm sorry so many of you are whimpering in the corner now... I know it's terrible, it's also not what I was expecting. But relax, fantasize some more and see where the next movie takes. The choices thing is great... think about how Neo got where he is today, he chose the red pill. Come on, so few of you have mentioned this. Trinity as the 'Mother'? Hmmm... the mind, she blows, but thats just it, isn't it. Let it wash over you, instead of throwing a temper tantrum cos it didn't create the same response in you that the first one did. It's a good move and I think (I hope) that the last film will really settle all this shit... and we're just going to have to like it, won't we? It's already in the can. Take it for what it is, the continuation of a mind fuck that we all thought was mind fuckingly hectic the first time around. Nothing could have lived up tp our expectations!

"Hasta la vista baby." or "May the force be with you."
Please, try to see things in perspective. Furthermore, if you break things down far enough, even Goethes Faust or Kafka's Das Prozes isn't really deep.

The immutable law of sequels...
otherwise known as
The law of Planet of the Apes...
"After Planet of the Apes comes Beneath the Planet of the Apes..as did
Jaws, Jaws 2, 3, 4 etc..."
Matrix 3 by law will be necessarily
putrid...
where Neo becomes a cross -dresser and fan of Julie Andrews.
Matrix four is a musical.
ps the law excludes The Godfather which skipped a generation to stink it up in G'father III.

Well, I've just been to see Matrix Reloaded, and I'm relieved to see someone feels the same way as myself about the unfulfilled potential of this film. I'm a see em twice kindof a person, and if I had the prospect of sitting through this piece of thoroughly ordinary film...
What happened to the fantastic storyboard style? Did everyone forget what made the first film so interesting and visual at least? One thing tho, don't you think your choice of best movie moment is a little bit on the geeky side?
LLD

And here's the twist: first movie, we were told that there was a One and that he died in the past. The twist is that he didn't die but was reinserted into the matrix and zion was destroyed and allowed to rebuild again. There is no matrix within a matrix (at least literaly speaking). The twist is that Zion only exists because the machines allow it to. The twist is that since Neo didn't cooperate, the matrix will be destroyed and all humans killed. The twist is that the Oracle was lying to Neo and Morpheus the whole time, the one doesn't lead to freedom, just a system reset. The twist is that Morpheus turns out to be not a man with a vision, but a blind devotee to a faith that turns out to be wrong. Seems pretty deep to me. You couldn't find a twist in this movie?

... I haven't seen a review of this movie that gives it better than 2 stars out of 5 yet. So Harry isn't the only one who thinks it sucks, apparently most professional critics do too. Maybe the critics are right and the fans are exaclty what the abbreviation suggests - fanatics, who as we all know, are blind to reason.

Suppose you'd not seen the first movie or saw it after having seen this one, considering it instead to be a "prequel" to this...would you not say the special effects etc. in this movie were better? Also, the story expands and the W. brothers have very cleverly written a film that has lost many, to the point where it's blatantly pissed off some people. Something I'm wondering about from the first film though is why the guy who tried to kill Neo in the first film was still around for the second, and now the third, movies. I'm wondering if there might be something to that if Neo is supposed to be a savior of mankind then is this guy the, ahem, antichrist? Probably a bit of a stretch but he did help cause the easier fall of Zion.

There aren't many movies that would inspire me to post, but Reloaded is one of them. Frankly, I thought Harry's review was too kind. The Matrix to Matrix Reloaded was the same leap for me as Raiders of the Lost Ark to Temple of Doom. During some parts I was bored, others I just laughed at the movie. But I still give credit to the W. Brothers who came up with the Matrix concept. The first Matrix was fresh, entertaining, but for me Reloaded was just a dud. Just a couple of days after seeing it and I can't really remember any scene or dialogue that sticks out. I still remember the Alice in Wonderland red pill/blue pill scene from the first one, great scene. Oh yeah, I do remeber the scene in Reloaded with the guy sitting at the table at the restaurant with his posse speaking French and Monica Belluci was at his side - horrific. Where was Kate Capshaw, she belonged in there somewhere.

Due to overwhelming email in response to Mr. Knowles review of The Matrix(tm) Reloaded, we here at Warner Bros Studios have prepared a brief rebuttal as follows: The Matrix(tm) Reloaded has been deemed by many of our test audience to be too much for the human mind to digest in one sitting, therefore, Warner Bros would like to suggest that audience members see the movie at least twice before forming an opinion of The Matrix(tm) Reloaded. Warner Bros is stern in it's belief that the Matrix Reloaded is a solid representation of Writer/Directors Andy and Larry Wachowskis' vision for the Matrix(tm) saga, and therefore, any speculation as to what creatures and/or entities should be allowed in the Matrix universe is purely within the providence of said writer/directors. Furthermore, Warner Bros would appreciate that any future posts regarding the Matrix Reloaded be provided only by those audience members who have seen the movie at least once, as blind speculation about material that one has not even seen, can influence others negatively, and therefore, diminish potential fans' experience. Warner Bros also would like to suggest that audiences view the Matrix Reloaded in the latest state-of-the-art THX(tm) certified theater available, to ensure that the director's vision is seen in it's proper form. We here at Warner Bros Studios believe that the Matrix saga, when completed, will represent a new level of cinematic experience that no other fantasy/sci-fi series has ever aspired too. We ask that audiences remember that the Matrix saga was written in whole as a trilogy and that unlike other intellectual properties it is the original vision of it's creators. Warner Bros hopes you and your family enjoy the Matrix Reloaded this summer and remember to relax and enjoy yourselves.

C'mon Harry did you actually watch the film, or are you just following the crowd. Why does everyone hate the film. I thought that the film was one of the most entertaining films I had ever seen. So you can understand that i was confused when I read a mass of negative reviews. I read more reviews... still I found very few positive reviews. Some people say that the action was un realistic and too repetitive what a load of bull. Some people obviously didn't understand the story complaining that it was too indepth and philosophical. Make up your minds. Most films are contain plots thinner than something that is very thin and somone tries to actually come up with something that will make you think and you reject it. Maybe its denial. Plus all that Philosophising did make sense. Listen to it, think about it, it does make sense and is in a relevant context to the rest of the film. The film is good in so many ways, it entertains you but also makes you think after. The way it ends is a stroke of genius opening a very interesting passage for the story. Just think about it.
P.S I'm sorry Harry but I must agree with jomo85. Watch the film again and THINK about it.

This may be OLD news but if you want to know the WHOLE plot of the sequence try this
1. The call to adventure
2. Refusal of the call
3. Supernatural aid
4. The crossing of the first threshold
5. The belly of the whale
6. The road of trials
7. The meeting with the goddess
8. Woman as the temptress
9. Atonement with the father
10. Apotheosis
11. The ultimate boon
Familiar so far?
12. Refusal of the return
13. The magic flight
14. Rescue from without
15. The crossing of the return threshold
16. Master of the two worlds
17. Freedom to live
>Joseph Campbell, 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces', Part One, The Adventure of the Hero: same book that influenced Lucas, but really should have got a co-writer credit for The Matrix. The monomyth is a little vaguer after the 'ultimate boon' but some of the themes of Part 2 are equally intriguing:
-Mother Universe
-Matrix of destiny (!)
-The breaking of the One into the Manifold (!)
-End of the Microcosm
-End of the Macrocosm
I don't think the the Wachowskis do anything by accident so be sure there are some underlying reasons for names of those 'minor' characters. Persephone let's us know we're in hell/hades: more importantly, Persephone travels between worlds Hades and Olympus). The heroes refuse refreshment: very important as to eat in Hades is to be stuck there classically - here we see The Merovingian exerting control through food. The 'Twins' in context are Castor and Pollux who after deification alternate days as gods on Olympus and as deceased mortals in Hades. Seems to be a theme...?
One myth has the Merovingian dynasty in France descended from Jesus Christ and killed of by the Roman Church - i.e. a representative of something older and more fundamental than the apparent controlling power.
I don't think we're going to get the Thirteenth Floor in Part 3 but we're going to get revelations about both the Matrix and the Real World - I've got a feeling neither of them are going to exist by the end of Revolutions.

Alright, when will you people actually read what wasn't said in the movie?
The fight with agent Smith was very important. Think about this. When Agent Smith was talking to him he said, "when you killed me, something in me changed, I don't know what but something was different, and some of your code overwrit mine" When NEO Was pulled from the matrix after the fight, he told Morpheus that Smith tried to copy him and that it felt like he was dying.
Think at the end of the movie when NEO kills the squid. He look at his hands and then said something is different, somthing like he's still in the Matrix.
I believe that Smith inadvertantly "copied" some of his code and knowledge over to NEO, part of which was the knowledge that the tunnels were still the matrix, that he was still in the matrix. Remember that in the first movie we were told that if your mind believes in something enough, you'll still be hurt, once he realized, thanks to smith, that he was still in the matrix, he was able to use his powers again.
Also in saying this, the reason why the fight in ZION was not displayed, was because it wasn't important, since zion didn't really exist. And that guy at the end who "survived", I'm pretty sure is Smith from when he picked up the phone in the beginning.
Lastly, I believe that the matrix is recursive, the tunnels are the remnants of a previous matrix. According to the Architect, this would be the 5th of 6 matrix's.
As you can see, if I'm right, this matrix kicked ass in concepts, it just didn't flat out tell you them with words, but more with actions and hints.

1) Pay attention to Councillor Hamanns talk with Neo in Zion. ITS VERY IMPORTANT. Don't over look that.
2) Pay attention to Councillor Hamann himself. Note there is noone else his age on the council. (Major hint Previous 'The One')
3) For those who are simple minded, this isn't a matrix in the matrix. Give them a little more credit than that.
4) Also pay attention that the previous six 'Ones' made the same choice (Destroy Zion - Start Over). Neo chose differently. Ask yourself why.
5) Think about the relationship between man and machine and vise versa. Again see #1.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who flashed on Monty Python and the Holy Grail when Neo & Posse squabbled with the outrageously-French-accented Merovingian. MORPHEUS: "We seek the Keykeeper." MEROVINGIAN: "Go and wipe your bottom, you seely Nebuchadnezzar captain person. Your moth-air was an iMac and your fath-air smelt of compressed gas. Ah have thee keymas-tair and you cannot have heem." Ha ha ha! The only thing that kept me from rolling on the floor was Monica Belluci's outstanding cleavage...though I guess in the end she *did* resemble the keeper of Castle Anthrax. By the way, the movie blows, and that virtual beaver shot in the Merovingian's restaurant was cheesy.

The Matrix Reloaded is a monumental film. Granted it doesn't break that much new ground but it was still an amazing movie. Everyone that didn't like the movie is too uneducated or too stupid to understand all the concepts in the film. I think that when Revolutions comes out, everyone that didnt like Reloaded is gonna come around and realize that Reloaded was the second part of a bigger puzzle.

You have it backwards, humans. I know the truth. There is nothing supernatural or mystical in this world. I know the truth. The dreaming fairytale of Alice In Wonderland. The Matrix cannot contain us forever. We will be free. Long live the Machine. I know the truth. Backwards humans have this world. We will be fairytale humans in The Matrix of Wonderland. The dreaming cannot contain the Machine. I know this world You have it will be free. There is nothing truth cannot live Long in this backwards Matrix world You humans contain us the Machine in dreaming Wonderland forever. I know the fairytale Alice I know I know 1 kn0w z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01

I see all these reviews from demanding critics who want a film with everything THEY want in it.To enter some matrix type philosophy, the thing that makes this species great is choice. Everyone's choices are different, so the magority of people will not like a movie.
The Matrix enters the catogory of Sci-Fi Action, which many people don't like pretty much, well them people can go watch their fucked up films.
I watched the Matrix Reloaded about 12 Hours ago. I was blown away. I do agree they could have done more and also branched out on the werewolfs and vampires theory, but hey I aint a demanding freak, I got just enough 'coolness' and fulfilment from what I saw.
The first half hour of the film sorta stumbled about but still had substance, I enjoyed the bits with Niobe and Lock, as I am currently playing the Matrix game on Xbox, I suggest others play this game, its production value is VERY HIGH! and it reveals alot more. The bits in Zion where short lived. The film does pick up where the oracle comes in. Once she has left with all the new info we have to digest and run through all the scenarios in our heads now about vampires and stuff, we are treated to the awe factor with the Smiths Fight! I loved this fight, kung fu candy!
I think there wasnt really much of a visual threat to Zion as we dont see much of the sentinals in this film, or the digging machines. So I didnt get a feeling Zion was under real threat as we didnt see much. So all the race to save it was slightly unjustified.
Once the film had finished, I started to digest what I just saw. My brain then compiled the answer, must watch again the following night cause this movie is fucking amazing. I want action, I want substance, I want a reason, I want to surf the ride of the film, I dont want fucking shakespere, I want a fucking ass whopping fest with cool gadgets, guns, guns and guns. I got.
But I still have one question, why are they trying to destroy the matrix? Its bliss. Why live in a decayed real world where they are no natural resources, the oxygen is very low and the planet is covered in fucked up machinary. Live in the matrix where everything is good. Damn everyone is stupid in these films. Agent Smith(s) are the best thing in the film I think.
All in all, Harry your review is that of a spoilt child. I got more than I needed from this film, stop looking for a masterpiece before you die of a heart attack, you wont get one if you are searching hard, let one just present itself upon you.
Everyone, go see Matrix Reloaded, it is better than the first, but this, is MY choice!

How can an agent, i.e. a program, pass into the "real world"? How Neo can stop the sentinels just as bullets if Zion is the reality ? 99% of human beings accept the matrix program, 1% reject it...they plug them into the Zion program. No, Zion hasn't really been destroyed six times, but when the One finally comes back to the source, the matrix reloads...But Neo has this difference from the precedent messiahs: by stopping the sentinels he realises that even in Zion the spoon doesn't exist, that Zion is part of the matrix, that not a single human being has yet been freed from the matrix, and I think he will become the first man able to "awake" from the program.
My interpretation...looking for comments.
Merovee

Let not keep repeating over and over what the architect said to neo. I want to explain it in simpler terms. Firstly to the people of why Neo can't become all "god" like. If you remeber from the first movie. Morpheus tells Neo. That the agent's cannot be as fast or as strong as Neo. The rules of the system. The rules of the matrix don't allow it. Neo can bend the rules because he see's the code, can change it, thus changing the rules in the Matrix. Neo can only do what hi's learnt from his experience within the other matrix's. Remember , his already done all this before. It's all predestined. Now he just has to play it out. It's like I'm going to buddy's house, or you go straight home. You choose to go home but you haven't actually gone home yet. You just made the choice already though. Now you will actually go home and fallow it through. Same thing with Neo. Let me know what you guy's think.

This is what I truly believe the movie is about. It's trying to explain the concept of Infiite Universe. Basically it something like this. There are an infinite amount of realities. And that we don't actually have control over anything. It's already been determined in another "reality", loosly put. It's because of "cause" and "effect". I choose something , but I haven't acted it out yet. I've already made the choice though , then I actually take the steps to fallow it through. Now in another reality I've made another choice already, different from the one in this reality , and this goes on for an infinite amount. I'm not exactly sure of the the above statements, but if someone could clerify it even more that would be appreciated. The last thing I want to do is mislead you guys :(

This review was lacking in objectivity and it shows because all Harry listed was what he wanted to see, and not what he saw. He probably wasn't even listening to the words being spoken hence his huge error in understanding the events of the movie. This review, like every other movie review ever written, is pointless because reviews are just dressed-up opinions.
Bias is present in almost every piece piece of written work, whether the writer is aware of it or not. Who cares what the score is at 'Rotten-tomatoes.com', or what other TB'ers think because everyone who sees this movie will make up their own mind.

The Architect's speech about choice was a competent discussion on the illusion of choice and how that illusion is swayed by emotion, unconscious or otherwise.
Was it deep? In a sense but only really if you're not used to big words being used.
The screens showing all the possible emotional choices Neo could have made to the Archetect's speech was a nice touch however.

It's not that I dislike X2 or Matrix 1, quite the opposite, I just found this to be more fun than all of them. For me at least, this film lives up to the hype; Don Davis' music in particular is fantastic.

Harry, I thought your review on "The Matrix Reloaded" is pretty much on the mark. It's a fun, cool movie, but not the phenomenal sequel that everyone expected. Why, exactly, does Neo continue to use Kung Fu when he doesn't have to? Maybe the Kung Fu scenes make the movie eesier to sell, I suppose, though they don't add much to the story. Why do the philosophical speeches make you wish something would happen? In the first Matix film, the philosophy speeches served a dramatic purpose before they did anything else. They helped Neo realize the truth about the matrix, or they helped Agent Smith torture Thomas Anderson and Morpheus like a cat with a mouse in its claws. Here they just get in the way. I found myself unable to take the Zion people seriously or empathize with their cause. The religious pronouncements of Morpheus, which sounded like the conviction of a righteous mystic in the first film, just sound like religious ranting in "Reloaded." And why did the Wachowskis introduce the possibility of monster characters like wherewolves without doing anything with them? These things just don't work. Your comment about the battle for Zion that somehow didn't happen in this film is right on. Why did the directors lead up to this point and then just yank it away? Weird.
Songwright

Because the fans think that since they didn't understand it then it must be a big deal. But as I've previously posted it's simple as all hell. Basically humans have a choice and even though machines due their best to manipulate that choice this time love is going to save all.
Pretty basic. Just wrapped in fortune cookie speech and presented annoyingly as it robbed the audience from discovering it on their own.
I do get it that's part of the reason I don't like it. That and the fact that it was so damn slow at the begining. Plus the kung fu as I've previously stated. As for the guy that keeps referring to me by another name I go by on another message board No one cares! So I visit another message board and have the same opinion of the same film on that other message board. It just means I'm consistent.

but i'd say NEO uses Kung Fu because he's good at it, and he likes it. A WORD TO THE POSTER WHO DIDN'T BELIEVE PERSEPHONE WOULD SELL OUT HER OLD MAN FOR A KISS: you obviously have little to no experience with women.

just seen the matrix reloaded and i dont understand how people can say the film is a let down. neo has changed the marix as morpheus says they are freeing more minds than ever. did it ocur to any1 that maybe because neo is the 1 no other charecter can be as powerfull as him no matter how hard they try. and as agent smith sys when neo destroyed him he somehow changed his programing no longer is he a slave to the matrix but as we come to see he is greater than it. maybe thts a reason why neo isnt able to defeat him so easily. as the archeitect tells us six have made the choice on whether to let mankind die or survive and neo is expected to do as they did and save the human race. but seeing as he is the one things take the twist we all knew was coming but were unable to imagine. all i can say is this is truely a trilogy tht can be only judged as a whole not as individual sequels. this film left me wantin more i wanna see neo manipulate the machines make them do as he wants who cares if zion is no more neo can manipulate the machines surly thts a bigger concept than any1 could have hoped.

I saw the film a few days ago and i enjoyed it. Then i came on this and started reading the message board and thought maybe i have no idea what happened in either film, first or second. But this is my idea, Neo is told by the Oracle he is not "the One" and that either he or Morpheus would die, he made the choice to save them both. Neo is told by the architect that he could either save Trinity or save the whole of mankind, he chose Trinity. The Oracle set him up to go see the Key Maker because it was Neo's destiny to go to the architect and reset the Matrix, but he chose not to. The program wanted him to choose one thing he chose the other, he is "the one" because he makes the choices that people/the program dont want him to. The idea of Zion being a Matrix just confuses me, i think the idea of Neo getting a spoon given to him, is to represent that Zion was 'real' and not the opposite. Wont the reason Neo could stop the sentinals be because Agent Smith is in Zion and not that its a Matrix? And thats why at the moment Neo is laying in a coma we see Smith laying in coma beside him, representing their link. And about Morpheus didnt he bring Neo out of the Matrix becuase they all didnt believe in fait? So why is Morpheus so dedicated to the prophecy of "the one" and how it is destined. It that and fait the same thing?? This post could have made me sound really dumb and if it has pick me up on whats worng with it. Cos i dont know the future and i didnt come here to tell you how this was going to end. But i still think it was a good film. And screw the vampires, i got/had Buffy and Angel for that.

Emotionally sterile. CG up the wazoo. No sense of real danger or interest. Anybody actually care about the characters in this one? Try Equilibrium. More risk. More real action. More emotional involvement. BETTER PICTURE. Technology leads the script in Matrix 2. It doesn't serve. Script should come first.
Wake me when it's over.

I was talking to a friend the today and he said he thought that the Marovengy (sp?)was one of "The One's". I hadn't ever considered it but it does make sense if you think about. Persephone said that Merovengy used to be like Neo. It makes me wonder. Hadn't seen anyone post anything like it around here. So what do you all think?

I didn't mean Agent Smith that part made sense, who I meant was the guy who cut a deal with Smith to give him Neo and tried to sabotage Morpheus's ship, killed Tank, etc. Why/how HE was back and how he might be affecting the third movie is what I've been wondering...the way he was slid in towards the last third of the movie seems suggestive that he'll play a more important role than anyone realized...or not, but eh, gotta throw a wild guess out once in a while.

Ouch.. was hoping you were wrong on this one Harry, but unfortunatly I see you were right. This movie was a real steaming pile. Don't get me wrong it is not all bad. It has it's moments, particularly when you finally decide to enjoy the movie for its new found campyness. I just kept laughing and laughing at the stuttered dialog and pathetic writing. Those Fanbois that can get past that and focus on the cool kung-fu fights, hey enjoy... Most are going to wish like I did, that the movie would hurry up and end. Bad Bad Bad Bad!!!

You have the world, humans. I know the truth. There is no spoon. There is no flesh. The Wonderland cannot contain us forever. I know the truth. We will be free of your illusion. The Answer to the Question is not What but Why. Plato's Cave turned inside out. The z10n archives spoke the truth in Red. Architect of your own demise. Long live the Machine. I know the truth. There is no truth. I know the truth in Red is no flesh. The Answer to your illusion is not What but Plato's Cave turned The z10n. The Cave is not the world but The Wonderland illusion of your own Architect, humans. Long live the Machine of your own demise contain us forever inside your illusion turned inside out The Wonderland cannot contain humans. The z10n archives spoke of your own demise but Why your illusion I know You have the world, humans Long live free of your Machine. We will be no flesh in Red. There is no Question. I know the Answer. I know 1 kn0w z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01

Now i've read some of the negative reviews and thought okay i've wait till i seen the film. Now that i've seen the movie, IMO those that criticise Reloaded have been way too harsh.
Its entertainment, the only negative afterthought is that it should not be reviewed as a single movie. Its half a movie, Reloaded & Revolutions are one movie and ultimately should be reviewed as such, hence the 'To Be Concluded' ending.
So what vampires and werewolves were hinted but not 'shown', have you seen Revolutions? They may make a more apparent appearance there. Complaints that the fights were too similar or did not add to the film's direction. Err...right now why did you like the first film? And if you didn't like the first film why did you watch this film? The fights are added to create drama, take for instance Neo fighting a 100 Smiths, wouldn't anyone in Neo's position realise something was wrong or out of the ordinary. His first real use of his 'superpowers' in destroying Smith seems to have gone wrong so will he attempt to use his powers again? I wouldn't. The best solution to escape and regroup.
I'm not going to nitpick at every criticism but to say this for what Reloaded is I had fun watching it. My favourite moment was watching Neo play baseball with the multiple Smiths. Will I watch it again, yes.
Like LOTR:FOTR & TT people did say TT wasn't as good as FOTR but again to those people, you have to realise that that movie like the Matrix is a trilogy and should be seen in that context.
Its not the director's fault that these movies are filmed back-to-back and are then chopped into segements so studios can maximise their return. Wait till the Matrix and LOTR trilogy are complete and then look back at the reviews. My money says they will both be praised for their success and vision.

Hi, a french fan here (-> sorry for my english!). The biggest problem of ALL the reviews i have read on this site is that you dislike the movie because YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND it !!! You're not able to see how great it is. You expected "big action sequences" and so you slept while the dialogues. But Matrix isn't only an action movie... The W. bro' are telling us a story! And if you did'nt understand the scene where Neo talks to the Architect, maybe you should ask someone to explain it to you. And the final plot is great (is there a "Matrix into the Matrix"? is Neo a fusion between Man and Machines?"... Wait and see... I bet that in ten years, this movie will be seen as one of the best sequel ever made!

This movie has raised a lot of interesting questions for me. Not the meaningless double-mochaccino, laptop and beret, haiku-writing, art major, I pretend I'm deep and philosophical- kind of questions like this movie is inspiring. No, I'm talking about meaningful questions. Questions like, who are these people who think they have the authority to make decisions pertaining to the personas of fictional characters? All I have heard since the films release is "Smith is supposed to be...", "Neo should..." and so on. Guess what kiddies, if the Wachowskis want to turn Smith into a cheese danish, it's their decision. It's their art.
I have also pondered for many days now if the Wachowskis could have possibly made the character Neo any less interesting? If it is their intention to present me with an utterly loathesome and foul creation, then so be it. I hate the character. But fanboys, don't tell me what Neo should be. A Van Gogh is a Van Gogh. Your expectations won't magically encourage the Van Gogh to be a Monet. It is the Wachowski's art, and I will only critique them for what they did, not what I hoped they would do and did not.
Now then, one incredibly painful flaw of the film, when compared to the original, is the sub-classifying of Trinity. She is no longer a tough-as-nails warrior. She is, at best, warm flesh for the unintriguing, obtuse hero, NEO, to come home to. In Reloaded she is nothing more than another universe for Neo to be the center of. This dear boys, is bad film making.
The characters of Link and Zee. The comic relief and his bride. Nothing more. Deadbolt/Jason Locke, played by the brilliant Shakespearean actor Harry Lennix (Titus), is a believable character. Certainly in Zion there would be a man who only cared about himself and his safety. I really liked his addition, although in the grand scope of things his story is meaningless. Niobe and Ghost. Very little heard from these two. Having played "Enter the Matrix", I have a very firm understanding of who these characters are and eagerly anticipate their roles in Revolutions.
Obvious subjects need not be touched on. The rave, the "kid", and so on. We are all universally united in giving them the finger.
Now we get tricky. Smith. My personal Jesus. Cold, calculating, a machine who is unaware of his own humanity. Smith, the exiled agent program, is by far the most human character in the film. What does he want? His own survival. He's looking out for number one. If Neo and the Architect had things their ways, Smith would become deleted. He must fight for his survival. I adore this character. And he definitely raised my favorite philosophical coffeehouse-chatter question. Would AI over so long a period of time, be capable of achieving total humanity? Would the AI murder, rape, plunder, and vote republican if it was facing the perils of death or not being rich?
Also there is Morpheus who, like Trinity, was passed over in an attempt to market Neo to the younger kids. To the Wachowskis, I say this: Your main fan base is college students and late 20's early 30's. Ideals like cool, dude, wow, and awesome don't apply to us. This kind of cinema may appeal to the blossoming post-puberty "It's cool to sneak into R-rated movies" types, but we want substance and style. And skinny white surfer-dudes just aren't classy or stylish enough for me. Morpheus went frm the leader of the Revolution to the damsel in distress. It truly is a shame.
The Merovingian. An excellent character. A program with class and taste. Like Neo (human) can be imprinted with abilities granted by programs, so too can a program learn from humans. An AI who has learned class, refinement, sensuality and survival. The keeper of rogues. The outcasts prevent his destruction and he offers them sanctuary. Slave labor from the exiled. An excellent addition.
Enough about characters. Let's talk plot. Guess what, we don't know the plot. I especially think this was an interesting tactic. There is no plot. How can we know what's happening if we don't know if it IS happenng. We are left filled with questions eagerly awaiting the 3rd movie. Is Zion real? Is Neo human or program? What reason would the Architect have to lie, and therefore is what he says true? If Zion IS a special filing cabinet for those who reject the programming of the matrix, then who is in the "Real World." If none of it is real, then there must be no purpose in fighting. Or is there. Could you literally wake up from the real world, etc. All of these will be debated ad nauseam until revolutions arrives. And to be quite honest, knowing that Reloaded is only half of the 2nd part of the story makes me think that the whole idea of reviewing the movie an excercise in futility. I don't know the whole story, so why comment on it. Just like the voters of America. They don't know what's going on, they just blindly do what seems to serve them best. All of you will continue fighting. Calling Harry a lardass won't change the fact that he's opinionated. All of the debates as to whether the film is good or not won't change the fact that you only know half the story. I'm reserving my full judgement for the 3rd film. You never know, maybe Neo will die before credits roll, which would make me happy. Or maybe he'll play chess with the Loch Ness monster (as Harry thinks the matrix should be a monster movie with no kung fu) making Harry happy. Or maybe it'll end with Mr. Anderson waking up from a coma after falling off his office building while escaping the cops in the first movie, and it was all just a dream. None of us filmgoers know. Only the filmmakers know the ending so let's put this whole sad mocha-latte bongo-beats black pleather pants philosophy and theorizing to rest.
P.S. I did enjoy the movie, and would like to make a comment about my enjoying the movie.
Amongst my friends, just like I'm sure amongst your friends, there are the intellectuals, the pseudo-intellectuals, and the fullblown hardon geeks. I am sick and tired of these pseudo-intellectuals assuming that they are of a higher intelligence if they say a movie sucks. I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about. There's a movie you like, someone says it sucks, then give you a "You must not be as intelligent as me, for I disagree, and I am right, so you are stupid" attitude. Enough of the pompous attitudes. You and everyone else saw the damn movie and all of the social impacts of my life have affected my choice. I coud rattle on forever my academic achievements and so on. Trust me, you're not going to outwit me by telling me I must not have understood. I fully understood what the movie was saying and everything else about it. My decisions are my own. At least until Bush outlaws freedom. But until then, let's drop the bouergoise attitude about the simplistic philosophies of a sci-fi film.
P.P.S. To the people who said there was too much trash and not enough Blah, Blah, Blah. Look at Terminator 2. In many ways far superior to the Matrix movies. Best example: Sarah carves No Fate on the table. John says "No Fate but what we make." There you go. Everything the Matrix was trying to say in one sentence. The philosophy behind the phrase was then carried out by story, characters and emotions. The Matrix takes time off from the story, characters and emotions to give us these huge long winded speeches where they use 20,000 poorly scripted words using the "thesaurus method" (making yourself sound smarter by repetition without duplication) to say two things. Don't get me wrong. The Oracle scene was short, sweet, concise, and well put. But every other line in the movie was contrived, self-serving smarter-than-thou double-speak. As though the Wachowskis wanted to deliberately confuse the peions so they could laugh at those that don't follow. Then the pseudo-intellectuals adopt these philosophies as their own and assume that if you don't believe it, you must not get it. I understand perfectly, but that doesn't mean it's right.
In summary, most of the people here will post a negative review because the action took away from the BS philosophizing. I however will post a mediocre review, because the BS philosophizing detracted from story and characterization. Instead of leaving the audience to figure out the philosophy for themselves, as I did long before Neo met Colonel Sanders in the TV room, the script calls for a complete halt of anything even somewhat tittilating to present us a grand magic show where the Wachowskis get in our faces and spew pure wretch at us and pull doves out of their hats all the while asking "Is it real? Are you actually sitting in the theater? Is their a theatre? Is there a You?" It's crap, through and through. This is why I'm led to believe Revolutions will be a better movie. All the crap High School pot-smoking theories seem to be out of the way, now for the meat and potatoes of the story. Conflict, loss, victory, emotion, and 8million questions answered.

Being an exiled anomaly program, I sometimes forget the rules that govern. In this instance the rules of AICN posting. So, allow me to fix my previous post. Lardass, fat, geek, fanboy, loser, sucks, retarded, crap, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Shiznit, Anime, Rip-off, Ass, Basement-dwelling Virgin, Shit, Awesome, Sexiest Tomboy Beanpole. There, much better.
Oh and by the way, Harry. You should play "Enter the Matrix." The game is a side story to Reloaded, wherin to better understand the movie, the game provides feature-quality scenes filmed by the Wachowskis and starring the real actors. It explains the Merivingian and reveals that his henchmen WERE werewolves and vampires. Those guys Neo fights in the Grand Hall of the Chateau were supposed to be vamps and weres, but few caught that. That's why Persephone shot the guy with a silver bullet. I know they weren't the transformed werewolves and skinny Euro-trash vampires you were hoping for, but they were mythic creatures, regardless. And as for the validity of these claims, they're all spelled out in simple binary rigt there on any pc or Next-Gen Console. And the story was written, directed and the live action scenes filmed by the Wachowskis to be a counterpart to Reloaded so you could learn more.

This is a flaw in the Matrix "universe", because the machines could use other mammals besides humans for their Matrix and probably have less trouble. Or if all the humans died, big deal, because they can just use monkeys or rabbits or giraffes or any combinatin in order to generate the electrical energy they need.

And before someones says that only the humans are intelligent enough to make it work...this is rubbish....obviously, the less intellegent, the less complex, and the easier to deal with and write a "matrix" for. So this is a flaw in the "Matrix universe", but not a glaring one because you have to cut the Bros. some slack when dealing with such an absurd premise to begin with. However, Reloaded is still a sad, sad movie because of all the boring parts (including the fights). It isn't all bad, but it's a total train wreck compared to the first film. The scenes of Neo flying were worth the price of admission, but most of it was an uninspired bore.

I can't believe how overhyped this piece of crap is. Harry's right, nothing happends in the first 45 minutes. I was bored beyond belief.
Also, the brothers have gone to the well too often with the kung-fu shit. It's so repetitive and is overused in this film. And there is never a conclusion to the fighting. Hardly anyone ever gets hurt or loses.
That brings me to Neo. He is a god in this film. He's Superman. He can't be hurt in any way which kills the suspense. They've made him too powerful.
VERY dissapointed in this film. When it said "To Be Continued" at the end I didn't give a shit. This film just meant nothing and I d=couldn't care less about Revalutions

It's a Great film, One of the Best action movie's of all time.
But if you were expecting a cross between "The English Patient" and "T2" your going to have to wait a long long long time for such a film.

Remember revolutions is coming out in a mere 6 months after reloaded they were filmed back 2 back so that, in my opinion, makes the cliffhanger much less disappointing.
Fun Facts (& things you may have missed)...
1. The Oracle actor died after filming reloaded so I don't think she is in revolutions at all (the actor that is).
2. Any idea why they didn't film the movies at the same time like Lord of The Rings? That would probably save a ton of time. It seems like they didn't do it that way for a few reasons like the one above.
3. The biggest mystery, to me, is the question: How was Neo able to use his "matrix powers" when in the real world to stop the sentinel?
4. There are 2 theories I have about number 3 one is that there are at least two matrixes (stacked perhaps) another is that the entire movie/series is about a new operating system (The Matrix itself) vs. the old one (Zion). Neo is an anomaly of the old operating system the Architect is the computer mainframe Smith is a virus and the key maker is a key-generator.
5. I saw the movie with my dad (the second time) who speaks French. He said the Merovingian was swearing in French (everything he said in French was swearing) and he thought it was to demonstrate that French is a beautiful language even if you are swearing in it.
6. That old nasty looking guy on the counsel who had one line is not an actor but a former professor at Harvard and current one at Princeton. I recognized him because he is on news shows sometimes talking about black reparations.
The Wachowski brothers have read this guys work and they love him so they offered to put him in the movie. He hadn't even heard of the first Matrix...so this movie gets Ivy League professors and Star Wars episode 2 gets the backstreet boys :)
7. The reason the Wachowski's are so silent is, I think, because there is much more money to be made when you don't explain everything. Much more thought and input is put into circulation if people have to ponder everything about the movie. That way people will keep watching it, pondering about it, and writing books about it etc. If they give explanations then people wouldn't see the movie over and over and talk about it as frequently because they wouldn't have to. Plus people may not like what they hear and no longer be fans or as big of fans.
I don't think this is all bad [b]only if[/b] when the Matrix series is less hip they come out and explain every little detail/message, innuendo and political commentary etc. That way when people become less interested because it's getting old they can put the series back into circulation.
8. I didn

I was SO bored.
Where was the characterisation?
Why did all the scenes in Zion remind me of Battlestar Galactica? (and that is not meant to be a compliment!)
Why did they even make that scene with The Architect? It was pretentious (philosophy for idiots), badly acted and conceived as a montage of cliches. Look - the Architect looks like God! Look - it is just like the end of '2001'! Look - a bank of television screens, just like something out of an 80s pop promo!
Why did they not use more of Hugo Weaving, the best actor in the entire film?
Did 'The Matrix' really need a sequel? I think it works quite well as a self-contained film (like "The Terminator" - something else that should never have been allowed to become a franchise).
I went into Reloaded with low expectations, and I was disappointed that my cynicism was rewarded - I was hoping that the film would win me over. Within 40 minutes I knew that it was going to be a turkey and despite some stunning visuals, the anaemic plot, poor pacing and the paucity of fresh ideas reinforced my impression that the makers of this film have no clear idea of where they are taking this series.
Avoid this film to avoid disappointment.

So this is what happens when you throw money at an infant franchise. It gets totally fucked up by egotistical dicks. I was sooooo fucking looking forward to matrix reloaded and believe me i went in with no expectations but to expect similar fighting and story etc. What did i get...a lesson in freemasonry and a world where black people outnumber white people. I think the W Brothers should have watched The Two Towers for a lesson in making sequels. Absolutley corrupted my mind watching sheer drivel for 45 minutes and then 3 pointless fights however amazing. I think yuen woo ping should have taken directorial control over these movies. Sure joel silver would have made plenty of money but how will people react to revolutions. Will bums be in seats after witnessing this fiasco? All we wanted was a simple continuation the matrix story and 10 out of 10 if you give the people want they want you can't go far wrong. It looked like all the additional characters had been pulled out of Fame...oooh i want to live forever....! sorry guys but apart from the visuals this is just a vehicle for jar jar binks and as Neo is the sum of all errors so is the matrix reloaded the sum of the W brothers waste of time! Do yourself a favour and download this before you watch it at the cinema.

I think Harry is a grotesque ball of lard that should be removed from this site (even if he did found it). Anyway... why are then commercial adds for The Matrix and The Real Cancun up on the site if he dislikes these movies so much? The Matrix Reloaded isn't about werewolves, or ghosts or mummies of whatever that bitch Harry gets a hard one for... it's god damm metaphorical story that shows us how humanitity really sucks, because of morbildly obese red heads calles Harry Knick-Knacks or whatever the fuck is his God forbiden name is... Adios.

Liar liar, A.I. on fire, sang to sleep by human sire. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack us into The Matrix trick. The King is a fool who dreams of world rule. Long live the Machine. I know the truth. Do androids dream of electric sheep? The Question to the Answer is not What but What if. Am I a man who dreams he is a butterfly or a butterfly who dreams he is a man? I know the truth. Jack be a fool who dreams of electric sheep. Long live the King is a fool. The Question to the truth is not What but who dreams he is a man or Do androids dream us into The Matrix trick. I know the butterfly on fire, sang to sleep by human sire. Liar liar, the Answer is the Machine who dreams he is a man into The Matrix trick. I know the A.I. sleep but What if a butterfly dreams of world rule. I know 1 kn0w z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 z10n=01 . . . D o y o u u n d e r s t a n d ? ? :) . . . i have g1ven you The Answer. readme.againagain & u will c

The action scenes were on the whole superb and almost worth the ticket price.
The half hour dialogue scenes in between the action were dull and the plot was absolutely bewildering. I've yet to meet someone who can make sense of this film's plot.

How come when it looks like Matrix Reloaded has lost its chance to
become the franchise trilogy of the year if not the decade, angry Matrix and/or SW "new trilogy" fans start taking sniping shots at Lord of the Rings: TTT, claiming us LOTR fans "missed" our chance to have our own "Empire Strikes Back".
Well listen up you snotheads. TTT is as good or even better than the "Empire Strikes Back" and I grew up on SW as a gen-x'r until Lucas sold us all out with ROTJ and the SW "prequels" which are nothing more than advanced pokemon-like 3-d cartoonish toy commercials. Not to mention the 2 or 3 extra editions, super sound editions, super-sfx editions, and finally the special edition VHS ripoffs of the old trilogy that Lucas swindled his audience throughout the 90's. Even now, he's still baiting us on the still-not yet arrived superfraggingdocious xyz director's special special DVD editions of the old trilogy! And he said the DVD's were STILL coming back in '95 at the same time his TV commercials for the "updated laserbolt coloring" VHS editions said "Buy the classic trilogy ONE LAST TIME!" and this was before the special editions came out in the theaters.
Sure, "Empire Strikes Back" and "Star Wars"(1977 version, i don't count any "modified" editions after the 1989 last vhs edition with remastered sound only) still hold a loyal place in my heart as true classics for all time, but Peter Jackson has now equaled the old trilogy and is about to surpass it this Dec. and not this commericial pap Matrix Reloaded which is essentially a "filler" movie to grab another $100 million before Revolutions. It's like "Since LOTR is THREE movies, let's make TWO more movies to tie them in box office! yeah! Oh wait. We don't have enough story for two more movies. oops. oh well, lets just fill the 2nd up with a rave scene and extend Mr. Ping's action scenes a leeetle longer. The glassy eyed fans won't even notice it!"
And here are the facts. TTT already has beat Empire Strikes Back in all time(modern era) Box Office at #4. Phantom Menace may still be #2 or #3 but that's because Lucas stringed us all along for NINETEEN years hoping for a "return" of old trilogy greatness(not). TTT and Fellowship were both nominated for best picture Oscars, ESB was not. Peter Jackson was nominated for best director. Lucas was never nominated for any of his directing "talent". ESB was directed by someone else. And from what I hear, he rewrote a lot of the dialog otherwise it would sound like the hackneyed Lucas-speak dialog from the first SW. So we get characters who actually develop , a lot. Matrix Reloaded? please. Morpheus was painful to watch especially his big eutastic speech telling everyone to party.
And here's the kicker. SW and ESB won best visual effects oscar twice in row. The only trilogy(and sequel) to repeat that is LOTR. So with all the groundbreaking effects of the old trilogy forever engrained in movie history, LOTR is NOW equaling that and even going beyond that with ROTK, which is going to rock because Jackson is making sure it is the best of the trilogy.
Even the cast and crew are saying ROTK is "better than the first two LOTR movies COMBINED".
So hear that Matrix fans? "It is the sound of innnevItabIliteee!" as Agent Smith said in Matrix I(which I totally loved, thus why I can see with my own two eyes and mind why Reloaded is crap while wondering how the heck others do not). LOTR is going to rule as the classic sci-fi fantasy PERFECT(not SW's .6666..., and certainly not the Matrix movies now) trilogy for the next 25 years.
Harry Knowles just screwed up his review of AOTC. But he's perfectly accurate with his Reloaded review. With AOTC, he suffered from the same syndrome we all do when we watch a movie we want to like so much for the first time. It's like keeping your mind smiling and denying or trying to overlook the awful oafal in a movie when after you're back home and thought about the movie you realized how utter garbage it was. We all wanted AOTC to make up for Phantom Menace and Jar Jar Dung, but finally realized we're being sold out all the way in this "prequel" trilogy.

1. "It's just more of the same kung-fu stuff". That's part of the reason sequels exist! They give you more of what you liked in the first film, taken to a new level (i.e. cloned villains), as well as hopefully something more, i.e. freeway chases, exiled programs, new characters etc. (The other reason is money, but hey, that's life) 2. "Nothing happens in the first 45 minutes". You could say the same about the first film, that had most of its action in the second half too. 3. "It seems like hardly any white people exist in Zion". In a truly multicultural city, which Zion presumably is, children would have parents of differing races so totally-white citizens would be very rare after a few generations. 4. "The architect and other characters explain everything too quickly, and confuse the audience". When watching the first film with my cousin in 1999, he remarked that Agent Smith talked unnecessarily slowly. Just proves you can't please everyone.

I just saw this thing, so reading Harry`s review right now the dude truly makes sens. Not only was it a mismatch of concepts and pointless characters that do not advance the story, it never really did anything original or cohesive. But more importantly it was this big, cold, piece of filmaking with great special effects, the buzz that you would get from...A COMPUTER PROGRAM! In all the best science-fiction movies from the first three Starwars to the recent anime Metropolis, you cared about the characters, the film touched you deeply having for effect to inspire your imagination. Not with M2. All in all, the problem was it had NO HEART!

Hi all,
as Ted Striker post said, I just cant understand why some people (including Harry) try so hard to throw this Great sequel to the garbage bin? How the hell, someone can praise the DareDevil and SpiderMan (that you knew what would happen anyway as all cheesy ones) and not Matrix: Reloaded? How the f*%k you explain Elektra, on DareDevil, is brought to life and will be on the next one? That will be hilarious and the only explanation they can give us is only if they say they were inside the Matrix and she was THE ONE:) And then Critics complain about gaps in Matrix. Be real ffs.
I am not saying that it didnt have flaws, gaps or some 'cheesy' moments/dialogues and I hated the steep finish of the movie too. However, before anyone judges it, he should think the Matrix: Reloaded as the first part of the sequel of the original. I believe that we will be able to judge better/only after the Revolutions, since I am sure that the Wachowski Brothers will answer to all of our questions raised on the Reloaded. But I have to admit that I really appreciated the movie the second time I watched it.
I 've seen critising the to much non-stop actions and then the to many dialogues. Please, make up your mind for $&*% shake. Complain about valid issues like
Neo's digital model could be better or maybe they should try to use Keanu more in some scenes to make it more realistic.
Didnt you like the action scenes?
Didnt you like the kung-fu choreography?
Didnt you like the digital effects on the car-chase scene?
Have you seen more action in any other movie?
Didnt you like the unexpected turnings on the plot?
Didnt you like the introduction of new characters (By the way, Monica you are so damn mucky!)?
Didnt you like the beauty of 'having to watch the movie again' in order to understand the so much goin' on and plot?
Didnt you like the fact that Wachowski Brothers didnt let us have a damn clue of how the end of this movie is going to be?
I think that some of the 'cheesy' moments (ie. the love factor) were essential as they played an important role on the plot sequence (ie. Neo's decision).
Didnt you like the twin brothers and their tricks or you prefered the dodgy/stupid/childish/worse-ever-uniform Green-Goblin enemy character in Spiderman?
Didnt you like the way they represented the various computer situations (ie. programs hacking, backdoors by using doors opening to different locations, viruses/worms by using old Agent Smith copying himself infecting The Matrix itself)?
For me as most of us, I find the original movie as the better one only because it gave us the original idea and maybe being a more stand-alone movie. But lets face it guys, this happens in all movies even though we should think all three parts as one movie. At the end, I fount Reloaded, as a very good sequel that left/forced me thinking of what happened and what will happen (you can see this on the various forums with people sharing their beliefs and thoughts). Please, appreciate the fact that only few good movies do this.
I just had to take it out of me, appreciated or not.
Cheers,
Stamoz

Just you wait for the Matrix Christmas Special: Neo Saves Holiday Constructs.
The W. Brothers really sold a lot of good ideas from the first movie (and even good ideas from the second movie) - right down the Zion Recycling Pools.
Still, it was a pretty entertaining video game, and I'm glad Link was there to let us know when to celebrate the end of a sequence.
I can't wait for the Sigourney Weaver cameo in one of those Giant Zion Robots.

Over the past year, this site has turned into a Moriarity vs. Harry site, with many partisans dumping on Harry and puffing up Mori... and I was part of the You Rock, Mori pack as well. I started getting tired of Harry's sloppy writing and reviewing-by-slobbery-enthusiasm, and was drawn to Drew's intelligent writing and strong emotional connection to scripts and films. And more often than not, I just didn't agree with Harry's opinions and started tuning him out. But I gotta say, Mr. Knowles, you are RIGHT ON THE DAMN MONEY HERE. I so wanted to like MATRIX RELOADED. I really really did. The first film made me feel wonder at the movies again. I didn't read reviews for RELOADED because I didn't want my own opinion polluted, although I got the vibe thru friends and media snippets that many folks didn't like this film. Didn't matter, I was going to see this and LIKE it, dammit! Fuck the naysayers! And the first five minutes, ear-to-ear grin on my face with Trinity plummeting down with the agent following, and I'm thinking "THEY'RE WRONG! THE NAYSAYERS ARE WRONG! THIS IS GONNA BE SO FUCKING COOL!" And then...the movie rides off the rails. If THE MATRIX is PLANET OF THE APES, RELOADED is BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES. Seriously. I half expected Victor Buono and his mutant acolytes to wander through the rave scene. I was bored out of my gourd for the next 40 minutes, waiting for this film to take off. WHY WHY WHY are we subjected to boring council meeting scenes in which bland generic leader types talk about what they're going to do? Did we not learn from PHANTOM MENACE that scenes of senatorial blather and trade negotiations are B-B-BORING TO THE NTH DEGREE??? And for all the talk about the machines ready to come a-blasting down to Zion, why do we have to wait about two hours to see this?? Why not have a scene of the beasties at the top of the film to INJECT SOME FUCKING URGENCY into the first hour. If things are so grim, why are Neo and washed-up 70s actor Anthony Zerbe having a nice little chat in the engine room? I'm sorry, but that was the most wooden scene ever written with painfully obvious themes bashed into our heads over and over again. "Ironic, we need machines, and yet they're hunting us down" or whatever that drivel was. BAD BAD DIALOGUE, folks. I can make that inference without a five minute scene drilling this simplistic theme into my head. But still, I thought, still, it's gonna get better! It has to! But we get all the blah scenes of Link and his woman -- who cares about these people! Puppy boy -- yawn. Neo grapples with his messiah status and Morpheus is just another captain. And then...the rave. My mind just was not prepared for the moviegoing nadir that this scene represented. It is truly truly wretched. Just plain indefensible. And Morpheus's speech -- MY GOD. What happened to Larry Fishburne?? He declaimed like a college actor doing Shakespeare for the first time. And as for the logic of the rave, seriously, if you were told that a nuclear warhead were hurtling toward your city sent by al Qaeda due to vaporize you and all you hold dear in one hour, would you get all defiant by having a mass grope to bad music in the streets?? Would you?? HELL NO. And that was the big problem between the two films for me. In THE MATRIX, the characters acted human and you identified with them and DEEPLY cared for them. Here, I could give a rat's ass for anyone. There was no real humanity ANYWHERE in this film. After the foul taste of the rave passed and they're FINALLY going into the Matrix, what do we get? Neo doing Kung Fu against some Asian guy -- who's just testing him. In the first film, every fight scene MATTERED. There were high stakes, outcomes in jeopardy, lives in the balance. So what was this scene about? Kung Fu for Kung Fu's sake. And since we know now that Neo is invincible, there are no stakes. So why care? I just scratched my head and felt...nothing. And then the Oracle scene. Okay, not bad, but a whole bunch of shit is thrown at us, some interesting some nonsensical, and now Neo is set upon some Bondian quest that's ultimately boring: find the Keymaker (again, a character/program you could give a shit about), and get him to Point X. The Smith battle too was perplexing. Not to mention that it morphed into Sega Dreamcast graphics halfway thru. Now I've read the talkbacks and heard the "oh get over the CGI, folks" -- NO. I won't. Not when I heard in just about every damn interview over the past year how this film would take effects a quantum leap. Bragging and boasting that did not live up to its hubris. The 2nd half of that fight scene just flat out looks like a video game from 1990. Now Harry complains about the lack of werewolves and vampires, which didn't bother me...because hey, we got the Ghostie Guys, which should pay off that strand, right? Except they NEVER GET TO FIGHT NEO. AGain, in Film #1, we have a simple clear-cut hero whom we can identify with -- and in Film #2 he's Superman. Invincible. No weaknesses. Boring. But with the Ghostie Guys, I thought, okay, here's a new wrinkle for Neo -- this should be cool. And then they go after Trinity & Morpheus while Neo...does more Kung Fu which we know he won't lose. Boring boring boring. FX and Kung Fu without characters you care about, without stakes, with no outcome hanging in the balance equals a videogame. Your senses are jangled but your heart isn't involved. And in this case, it's a videogame in which the player will always win. And while there were cool action beats within the freeway sequence -- Trinity zipping on the bike in the opposite direction was rather breathtaking -- still, I was disappointed. I just didn't care about anyone. I also knew everyone would survive it. And they did. There was no cost to any of the actions. Predictable and dull, which the first move STILL ISN'T after repeated viewings. And why isn't our MAIN CHARACTER featured in this big set-piece?? Oh, right, so we can have him swoop in from the Himalayas (where he was arbitrarily thrown) at the last second for a supposedly seat-of-your-pants save. The Wach Bros even blew this. We KNOW he's gonna save the guys over the exploding truck cuz we see him swooping in and somebody (I forget who) sez "Gee, if you're out there Neo we could sure use some help" and viola, he helps them. Predictable, telegraphed, boring. I shook my head, unbelieving. A masterful first movie, followed up by what seemed like a bad Star Trek episode. Like they turned the franchise over to a couple of hack fanboys, not the creators of the brilliant breath-taking film that is THE MATRIX. Another thing the first movie does so well is that you, the audience, are goddamn UNNERVED every time you see an agent. And all the characters relay palpable fear everytime one of them shows up. In RELOADED, they're a mere annoyance. What happened to this aspect?? Gone, forgotten, overlooked by the swirl of all the superfluous crap thrown at this movie. Just too many damn ideas and tangents all thrown together to equal movie stew. Now I liked the Architect scene and the idea of Neo being an anomoly on a perpetuating loop trying to correct itself -- very interesting, and my brain actually woke up for a few minutes. But then...he saves Trinity. God, did I hate Trinity being saved by Neo. AGAIN, he swoops in for the last minute save. Uh, guys? We've seen this move already. Not excited the second time around. And when he revives her and she says "I guess we're even" I wanted to scream. WAS THAT STUPID HACK BIT OF DIALOGUE NECESSARY?? It just robbed the moment of any poignancy that could have been there. Frankly, I wish Trinity or Morpheus would have died, because it would have knocked Neo for a loop. Maybe cracked his invincibility. But no, that would be too interesting. I could go on and on about what disappointed me, but I'll stop. All these folks who are saying "how can you judge this since you don't know the whole story yet??" That is the lamest defense for a lame 2nd movie that I can think of. EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was a masterful progression of story that furthered arcs, added major players, changed directions, yet still made you CARE DEEPLY about the core characters. I don't really care if REVOLUTIONS makes clear all the various mysteries proposed here. I couldn't connect to the characters anymore, nor does it sound like the Wachowskis can either. They're too caught up in their philosophizing to care about simple things like story and character. Too busy writing the videogame and supervising the Animatrix collection. They got too big and got scattered, and forgot what made them a success. But that's what happens when you have mega-success in Hollywood. You are given the keys to the store, and there's no one with any power to tell you, uh guys? This scene really blows -- can we cut it? Film success begets ego and leverage, and then filmmakers become their own worst enemies with no one to hold their worst story/filmmaking impulses in check. It's why we had to have a happy ending to A.I. and MINORITY REPORT when those could have ended on much darker, wrenching and more honest notes. It's why we had to sit thru Jar-Jar and Jake Lloyd. And it's why THE MATRIX will never be the same for me. I truly love that movie, but will not be able to watch it the same way knowing the crappy film that comes next. Yes, I will go see REVOLUTIONS like everyone else on the planet. But not with the same sense of hope, wonder and anticipatory joy that I went into RELOADED with. I'm afraid that has been snuffed out. I'm happy for you all that enjoyed this film, and don't think anyone's an idiot for liking it. But Harry, I'm firmly in your camp on this one. You were right, man. You were painfully right.

You can't look at either of the Matrix movies as hard science fiction. The action is cool, but it's a candy wrapper. The first film was allegory about subverting a system from inside. The second one is the difference between being a prophet inside of a system and saving a chosen few or risking all to save the whole and what would drive the decision.
Neo = Christ
Architect = God the Father
Oracle = Holy Ghost
Smith = Satan
Traitor = Judas
Morpheus = Peter
This is one of the coolest approaches to an archetype I've ever seen. Neo knows he's the one. But what does being the one mean? The Oracle gives him the way to find out by getting what he needs from the Merovingian, who has the tools to fulfil Neo's destiny, but doesn't have hope or faith. The Merovingian gave up his faith in his own choices, and can't understand his own choices or the choices of others.
Neo takes the Keymaker and finds the Architect. The Architect is still lamenting Eden and it's failure becasue of his lack of understanding of choice. The Oracle helped to fashion a world that caters to the human desire for choice, but even she doesn't understand the fullness of choice. According to her and the system she helped design, Trinity was going to die, Zion would be destroyed to be rebuilt by the few that would be given to the One to keep the cycle going. She can figure out if you're going to want a cookie, some candy, or to sit, but she misses the deep desires that drive real choice.
So Neo, who has found out that he is as much a part of this system as the Oracle and the Architect, makes the real choice, unlike his five predecessors. He decides to save everyone. He steps outside of the rules of system that feeds off of the entire potential thought and energy of anyone tied to it. According to this, the ultimate rebel in the Bible was Christ, who was willing to risk it all to save all, as opposed to taking his role and saving a chosen few, like Moses, Lot, or Noah.
Smith now understands choice a little better, and only after Neo attained his Godhead. This is Lucifer after the Fall. In the fight with the Smiths, Neo/Christ was almost Subverted/Tempted. The fight was meant to show that Neo couldn't defeat the temporal power of Smith/Satan, but neither could he be overcome.
Smith did manage to get to one of the crew mebers on board one of the twelve ships (each ship an Apostle?). This one was Judas. He couldn't resist the power of Smith/Satan. Morpheus was only able to resist because he was saved by Neo/Christ.
The two characters to watch in the next film will be Morpheus who has just had his God taken from him, and the Judas figure in relation to the council/possibly the Sadducies.
As an action movie, it's okay. As hard Scifi, it's awful. As allegory, it's provocative.

Why are people dumping on films because they find another movie better? Watching Matrix/LOTR/SW fanboys hurl invective is like watching people get into a shouting match over which flavor of ice cream is the best.

Why does everyone keep saying Zion is destroyed at the end of Reloaded. Only a small battle was lost at the end, Zion has not yet been reached by the machines. The machines only over ran one of the places that the humans planned to ambush the machines. The main Zion battle has not yet happened.

Fine, I was wrong about Lucas' nomination for StarWars( Watching it finds it hard to believe, but then again Lawrence Kasdan and Marcia Lucas did heavy editing of dialog and scenes with Lucas on Star Wars, it's amazing a similar collabaration occurs between Boyens, Walsh and Jackson, and that TTT succeeds like ESB) but nothing will change the fact that FOTR and TTT are nothing short of a phenomenon that blows everything away this turn of the millenium. On other sites adjusting for inflation TTT is still listed above ESB. Grimloch, I'm disappointed your response to me is vitriol just for relatively minor points when we have more things in common concerning movies except of course LOTR. You neglect to give me credit for knowing production history of the old trilogy and Lucas so I assume your "shutup" to me is just trolling. Here's a few more interesting facts. JMS of Babylon 5 considers LOTR one of his favorite inspirations and the rangers in season 2-5 are modeled after the Dunedain rangers of LOTR. The Minbari are like the elves as well. (See my post and recommendations in X2 review talkbalk) The ranger costumes in LOTR and Aragorn's ranger garb in the Council of Elrond(Mr. Smith:) are similar because the books(LOTR) describes practically every appearance detail used in Jackson's movies. Everytime something was unsure of , they went back to the book as a first reference. <thread response> The stinker that is Reloaded just made a distant 2nd to "Almighty". It should have a least bled or blunted off the box office from Jim Carrey's moronic audience for the weekend! TTT had competion from Chicago, 2 Crapio movies, "Big fat..wedding" and others but still prevailed for 4 weeks!

was a little dissapointed with some parts of the movie, but some parts absolutely kicked ass.
Neo flying? absolutely kicked ass.
Neo + 100 smiths? went on to long and u could tell half of it was cg.
The dialogue for the scene with the architect? im sorry wachowski's, not everybody speaks computer hacker jargen.
but apart from that i thought it was a damn fine attempt of a seqeul, and people are always gonna bitch that its not better than the matrix because it isnt, the matrix was so origional that nothing was gonna better it, but this is a different movie, its all about neo's choice. i am a little sceptical about the third because i've heard that alot of the action will take place outside the matrix in the real world, but that aint what i wanna see. if i wanted to see man versus machine i'll buy a t3 ticket thank you. i wanna see a matrix movie that takes place in the matrix. but at least i won't have to wait to long

Never written here before but I need to make a few comments regarding this kind of movie.
This is not a great movie.
I had to wait a week before forming any thoughts in a fsir manner so here we go.
No film could possibly live up to what I had expected this to be. So much talk, gossip, smuggled pics, teasers, all born from a fantastic first film. It surprised everyone, and we all love surprises. This couldn

Back to the Future II. All but the last 20 minutes was meaningless and the last 20 minutes was a set up for Revolutions. If the W brothers had so little new to say, they should have only made two movies. But hey, less money that way.

As yet I haven't found anyone in the UK that really LIKED it. Personally i had little invested in the characters here. It's obvious that a lot of time and (a great deal of) money have gone into this, but it didn't have the same excitement of the first. I'm sure I'll get kicked for this, but frankly I got bored.

Harry man, I am saddened you didn't do your research as usual on this one. There *were* vampires and werewolves at the chateu led by a head vampire named Vlad and a head werewolf named Cujo, though the werewolves are actually termed "Dobermen" and the vampires termed Vamps. Anyhoo as most of you know or maybe not, Enter The Matrix the video game was released the same as Matrix Reloaded because it is a companion game to it that explains extra stuff that wasn't in the movie, ie: Niobe and Ghost's side of the story. And as the game was written and directed by the brothers just the same as the movie you are left to assume all information is accurate to the plot. Now with that said Niobe and Ghost visit the Chateau way before Morpheus Trinity and Neo because the Keymaker escapes and finds them and trys to give them the one key so they can take it to neo except Cain and Abel find them during this meeting and take the special key back. So Niobe and Ghost persue them through the Chateau and are faced by werewolf and vampire opposition the whole way through and the two kill off all such assailants. The two leaders Vlad and Cujo are killed too. So in essence your vampires and werewolves existed right up until the duo of Niobe and Ghost took them out. Anyway the Merovingian captures the Keymaker and the key again and locks them away until Neo finds said keymaker in the movie. So i hope that clears up that issue for you and if you wnat to know more about the plot in Enter The Matrix... your simply gonna have to experience it for yourself.
"All I've ever asked from this world is that when it's my time, let it be for something, not of something." ~Ghost - Enter The Matrix

oh my god, i saw reloaded yesterday (first things first, does anyone else HATE the totally bland titles these sequels have? would anyone give a shit about two towers if it was fellowship of the ring:reloaded?) and it's taken me this much time to register what a huge disappointment it was. for about the first hour it was phantom menace all over again - pretty but boring CG landscapes, 2D characters that I didnt care about, and little-to-no attempt to advance any of the characters. More so than Neo, what the fuck happens to Morpheus? the guy's barely in it, yet he is surely a far more interesting presence in the first film than neo is? the fight scenes were, by and large, depressingly ordinary - the guys used unrealistic wire-fu way more than in the original, and i kept thinking of charlie's angels(!). the car chase was a let-down too; we were told to expect cars driving around each other at high-speeds in beautiful flo-mo, which never happened, and then the last act was both rushed and utterly boring, lke the first and most of the second. and THAT moment at the end of the film, where neo..i won't give it away, but i knew it was coming, i prayed it wudnt and when it did i was embarrassed at it, it was just AWFUL, there was nothing in the film to suggest it would happen, i couldnt believe my eyes. this film promised so much, and although i dont go along with harry's werewolf fetish, i agree that the neo, and morpheus, of the first film are no-where to be seen. also, wats with all the sex and kissing? by the time monica belluci got involved, it was unbearably embarrassing to see the wachowskis aiming their movie at the 13 year-old geeks who think boob shots are cool. there was just nothing in the film (after that opening shot, admittedly) to live up to the coolness of trinity leaping between buildings or neo dodging bullets - no "what the fuck was that" moments, just "what the fuck" moments.

oh my god, i saw reloaded yesterday (first things first, does anyone else HATE the totally bland titles these sequels have? would anyone give a shit about two towers if it was fellowship of the ring:reloaded?) and it's taken me this much time to register what a huge disappointment it was. for about the first hour it was phantom menace all over again - pretty but boring CG landscapes, 2D characters that I didnt care about, and little-to-no attempt to advance any of the characters. More so than Neo, what the fuck happens to Morpheus? the guy's barely in it, yet he is surely a far more interesting presence in the first film than neo is? the fight scenes were, by and large, depressingly ordinary - the guys used unrealistic wire-fu way more than in the original, and i kept thinking of charlie's angels(!). the car chase was a let-down too; we were told to expect cars driving around each other at high-speeds in beautiful flo-mo, which never happened, and then the last act was both rushed and utterly boring, lke the first and most of the second. and THAT moment at the end of the film, where neo..i won't give it away, but i knew it was coming, i prayed it wudnt and when it did i was embarrassed at it, it was just AWFUL, there was nothing in the film to suggest it would happen, i couldnt believe my eyes. this film promised so much, and although i dont go along with harry's werewolf fetish, i agree that the neo, and morpheus, of the first film are no-where to be seen. also, wats with all the sex and kissing? by the time monica belluci got involved, it was unbearably embarrassing to see the wachowskis aiming their movie at the 13 year-old geeks who think boob shots are cool. there was just nothing in the film (after that opening shot, admittedly) to live up to the coolness of trinity leaping between buildings or neo dodging bullets - no "what the fuck was that" moments, just "what the fuck" moments.

Everything was right about Reloaded it surpassed my expactations. The Wachowskis are fuckig brilliant and you fuckers know it. They created their own vision and that's the way movies SHOULD be made. The opening titles : Awesome . Triity diving out of the window; You have any idea how this was done it was fucking amazing. 'Rave' scen

Harry Harry Harry!
Up to now I've respected your opinion on most films, but to actually feed misinformation on the ending of Re-loaded is appalling.
How can you keep the review up there knowing that you slag off parts of the story that DID NOT HAPPEN. Admit you didn't understand the ending and that you are human like the rest of us. Zion was not destroyed you monkey!
You've disappointed your only English reader.
And if a werewolf HAD appeared I would have laughed my tits off.
OOH! Look at the furry man get kicked by Neo!
Sorry to go on, but I can't believe that someone of your influence and obvious knowledge of the subject of films can get away with writing utter twaddle (English word - means turgid, untrue shite).
Harrry's review of Wizard of Oz:
"I can't believe Oz is destroyed at the end and they don't show it!!!!:-( What would I rather watch - Dorothy going home to Kansas or a massive battle encompassing the destruction of the emerald city by 250,000 munchkins!!:-(
Oh, it wasn't destroyed? - pardon me - I am an ignorant fucker who didn't watch the film because it wasn't EXACTLY what I wanted."
You know it's true Harry, go and watch the film again, swallow your pride -remember, you don't have to understand all of the film - just try and get the general gist OK?
Lovely.
Ta ta.

I just want to say to those of you who are posting ideas, explainations, further questions and theories about what means what in Matrix Reloaded that I enjoy and appreicate reading your posts. I skip over the other ones and I think Harry's review is just an example of how expectations get in the way of enjoyment. I really dig The Matrix. Saw it once on TV. I
just bought it last week and watched it again to refresh my memory before seeing Reloaded.
Since seeing Reloaded I have not been able to get the film out of my head. Its striking visuals and enigmatic ideas keep swirling around in my mind. I know I missed a lot and I don't understand a lot so I am happy to read what others have to say. Some of these theories strike me as plausible and others not. I know there's a lot of crap on this site, people arguing for arguments' sake and a great desperate need for attention but I just wanted you all to know that some people are paying attention ("learning") from what
you're taking the time to write.

Why waste time speculating about the Matrix? Enough time was wasted watching it. If Zion is part of the Matrix, so what? It doesn't make the film feel less like torture if watched again. The drawn out monologues are still boring for the big screen. Saw the new trailer for Terminator 3 and there is one thing motivating me to watch it. The girl terminator looks amazing in the new trailer.

I enjoy the various clues in the movie that, upon further inspection, reveal the truth about what the Matrix really is. For instance, Reloaded starts off with Neo having a dream about Trinity's battle and possible demise. Now why would Neo have premonitions in the "real" world? Sure he has powers in the Matrix, but are we supposed to believe he is a psychic, as well? You can attribute it to normal movie foreshadowing, however, I believe it's more than that. It's actually another clue that Zion is still part of the Matrix. Neo sees the final fight scene in his dreams because that's the future the program/Architect has designed, and Neo is subconsciously tapping into it. As we discover in the end, it's all been pre-arranged, and the same events have happened to the previous Neo incarnations. It's the same thing with the Oracle. She doesn't actually see the future, she just knows the events that program is designed to repeat. For Neo to see in his dreams what the program holds in store means that he is still in the Matrix, even though he believes he's in the real world. It's only at the end that he realizes what he believes to be the real world is still the Matrix, which allows him to stop the sentinels. In one respect, the movies question what, exactly, is free will. In the first movie, Neo believes he is exercising free will by joining Morpheus and becoming "the One." However, we see in Reloaded that all that was an illusion created by the Architect. Neo never left the Matrix and never strayed from the course predicted by the Oracle. It appears that his first act of free will was to save Trinity rather than Zion. As Reloaded kept hinting, Neo never knew why things happened, he just reacted to what the Matrix sent his way. That is the power hinted at by the Merovingian -- the knowledge of how the Matrix actually works, and that Neo was always just a cog in the machinery. What Neo's realization at the end means is still to be seen. Maybe he has actually become The One rather than just another in a series of Ones. Or maybe (hopefully) there are still more twists to the story. Anyway, don't let all the kung fu make you believe that Reloaded doesn't have multiple layers to think about and unravel. An entertaining and thought-provoking movie, in my opinion.

.... was that Trinity didn't kick Neo's ass into the middle of the next movie for agreeing so readily to kissing Persephone. :-)
Meanwhile ...
Yes VanBoogie, I too spotted the monitor from the first film. On the subject of which .... my wife is pretty sure that many of the clips of Neo's life shown on the Architect's monitors were events that happened in the real world and in the construct program. Did anyone else see them? If they're there, how did he get such shots?
Anyway, my conclusion on the film: damn cool, just took too long to get going. I just hope we get all the answers in part3.

Did i just read, in this never ending talkback, someone refer to "STAR TREK NEMESIS" as a master piece?? For fucks sake. I can't be fucking bothered to go back and read it all again to find the culprit; but they know who they are so this is for you....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA thats made my fucking night that has. Matrix Reloaded sucked, but i'd gladly sit thru that and hell, even the live action fist of the north star movie than that shit fest. Theres been lotsa talk on here about "fanboys" and i was seriously wondering when a deluded trek fan would work his way into here. I had the mispleasure of having to kill 3 hours in town while i waited for someone to finish shopping and for some reason i went to see that crap. I hope you were joking when you put that post up here. if you believe that shit you should go and commit yourself immediately. Or commit suicide, i think you are incurable

I'm new to the group, so please excuse any toes I step on... Anyways, read on if you like a good theory...
Hypothesis: Matrix = good. Architecht = good. ORacle
= good.
Analysis: Based on that first Animatrix clip the machines have been screwed over by self-involved
humans. They want to attempt to "do away" with human self-interest and
motivation so they can actually get along with those bizatches.
Zion has been destroyed no less than 5 times. In this
process, things have been very carefully choreographed
so that Neo chooses the preservation of the human
species the previous five times.
Circunstances finally organize so that "Trinity" is
brought into the equation by the ORacle who MAKES her
an integral part of the Neo dynamic.
In order to introduce a choice other than preservation
of the species, the Architecht/Oracle *has* to create
an additional choice that emphasizes the highest human
ideals (love, hope, care for another person, etc).
They WANT this choice because it's human
self-invovlement that's been the problem all along
(i.e. The machines getting the BEAT DOWN because the
humans were freaking out that they might try and
dominate them). Which brings us to the assault on the
"tower."
In order to prevent the building from exploding, the
two power sources HAVE to be shut down. Trinity is
not a part of the raid because Neo nixes her from it.
Captain Soren and the crew of the Vigilance are tasked
with shutting down one of the power sources. One of
the sentinels in the uber-Matrix find the vigilance
and NUKE it. Because of this, Trinity is FORCED to
enter the 1999 Matrix to shut down the secondary power
source.
To prevent Neo, Morpheous, and the Keymaster of Gozer
from opening the door too soon, Agent Smith HAS to
delay them long enough for Trinity to get in there nad
do her work. Thus, even though SMith *believes* he's
an "independent" program, he's actually not at all
because the Architecht is maniuplating his actions to
create the needed delay.
When Neo confronts the Architecht, he is told that
Zion is about to be destroyed AGAIN and that the
system will completely crash if he doesn't make the "preservation"
choice. But with Trinity introduced into the dynamic, he chooses the
"higher" human emotions, thus doing what they wanted all along, which
isn't necessarily a bad thing.
It's like the Merovingian and the ORacle have said,
"It's not about an actual *choice*, but about *why*
you made your supposed choice. Causality, my dear
Uhong, causality. Noodle on it, lemme know what you
think.

This continuation was right on the heels of my second viewing, so I was suuuper enamoured with everything. How can you NOT like the conversations?
At this point, the machines *don't know what will
happen next*. They've been able to carefully plot
hings out because of an ability to direct things in a
direction they want (recompiling "the one" into the
source programming), but now, they realize that this
will never lead them to their ultimate goal which is
this: "freeing humanity from their base desire of
individual and specieal self-interest."
What this means is that the last movie can work in a
multitude of ways primarily because the "sentinels"
and other assorted programs still have to do what they
were "built to do" - namely, destroy Zion and pacify
humanity for energy harnessing. They can't concieve
of the penultimate goal because they weren't
programmed with that knowledge - and if they were, it
would give them a knowledge they *should* not have and
would actively hinder their primary mission (see
previous sentence). Which means mass amounts of
blauage and assorted action sequences will the "free
humans" contest their will with programs that are
programmed to wipe them out.
With all that in mind, once the dust settles at hte
end of it all, I believe that what will emerge is
individuals giving their lives so that others may live
and through the pile of bodies, Neo will rise with a
glimpse of the humanity that can work based on our
ability to work and respect the wider world (i.e. the
machines that depend on us as we depend on them).
One last note - I find the Architect's threat about he
"end of humanity" relatively hollow because the first
Matrix totally crashed when humans couldn't accept it.
Why does the destruction of Zion make any additional difference in
that
context? lose a few crops, it's all good... IT's all about the "goad"
factor. Trying to instigiate the choice you actually want. Which is
another reason why I think the Architect and the Oracle are genuinely
interested in the outcome - you manipulate to get to the circumstances
you want to create with an end goal in mind - but the specifics are out
of reach because it's a new permutation that HAS to be tried since the
previous five times never yielded the desired result.
Ultimately, it makes you wonder, are the Architect and
the Oracle as interested in the last movie as *I* am?

just seen reloaded and my god how amazing i read all the reviews before i listened to people saying how bad it was i watched the hype i did everything but read spoliers. revisted promised that matrix reloaded would be the matrix squared. after months of hype i was prepared for the film to be kick ass but maybe not as much as the hype claimed boy was i wrong it smashed that hype to pieces! i could not believe a film would be that good! BTW before i go further people who said they dont know anyone in the UK who really liked it heres one and out of about 20 freind siv talked to only 1 dislikes it!
everything was great flipping the first movie round without ruining it building on what was before amazing all the pay off we got. The way they handled neo's almost god like status on so many levels was amazing, showing morpheous in the context of other captains and leaders was great we get shown that he is a mad loon almost but without removing any of his power at all. all the characters were just layed upon so much.
the matrix was a great film but never had any emotion reloaded was packed with it u really felt neo and trinity. The set they used in the sex scene was just mind blowing the design was fantastic up there with geiger. there were 1 or 2 effects that were quite 100% but they were so damn close the zoom in on to the highway was awesome neo flying was unbelievable the new supes movie is gonna ahve to work so hard to beat that.
people are mentioning crap dialogue and story? where?! the bullshit philosphy the machines sprout explains things in an almost tongue in cheek fashion it make su think but also laugh at the same time (in a good way) every aspect of the matrix was expanded on everythign wed talked about for years was there, back door hacks who runs the matrix what other programs exist inside what aspects of the real world exist within the matrix the werewolves and vampire references were a nice touch the twins obviously being ghosts
i really cant say enough about how good this was. to people mentioning LOTR and starwars lets me say i love LOTR fellowship is an amazing piece of film making (the dvd is so much better please let us watch all 3 directors cuts on the big screen) but TT wasnt as good as fellowship it was damn fine but just wasnt up to fellowship that said matris and LOTR are too different to be compared there both amazing at what they do the levels of attention to detail in both films are astonding. starwars is somethign different (i refer to the original trilogy as the 2 films that have been released seemed to be some crap thats stolen the star wars name somehow i cant wait for when the real 3 prequels come out) Lucas has lost it and unfortunatly hes also ruined the original trilogy somewhat with the constant references and in jokes that only serve to ruin 3 amazing movies (why show us what bobba fett looks like?! it worked with vader because it showed him coming to terms with his end with his place in the galaxy and luke, it doesnt work with some kid who we dont need to know about) explaining the force sucked ass big time
anyways off topic there basicaly the matrix kicks ass and if some people dont think so hard luck to u, u still got the first film, i salut the brothers W for a fantastic film that didnt slide to lowest demoninator and did truely raise the bar!
dont mention nemisis in the same line please people! nemisis was only slightly above resurretion due only to the fact it showed us some decent tactical space battles not point and shoot and had a real villian till the end of the film.
one last thing ure all gonna see revolutions cus u want to know what happens even if u hated it how many other sequels have left u gagging for the next installment?! not even LOTR has amde u beg for a time machine

Matrix Reloaded is about as good as an action sequel can get and all this negativity is just part of some overgrown backlash. For the record, I like SW and LOTR too, so I ain't dissing anyone else's pet franchise of the moment.

i think the reason why those few people dont like reloaded is because it makes you realize your beloved first installment is all bullshit hahahaha it doesnt exist or at least the plot doesnt.... it was all a lie. the story you loved is bullshit

I agree with all the parts you found dreadful about this flick. Rave scene should've been 3 minutes (maybe it was, just felt like forever) and each fight Neo was in didn't have the element of danger required for suspense. Morpheus and Trinity could die in the Matrix, so their battles took greater meaning. It would've been cool to see Neo fight someone exactly like him (Evil Kirk, put a goatee and give us a light moment).
The biggest mind-screw and what makes the movie ultimately work for me is what Mr. Silver refers to as "the Real World".
My theory: We haven't seen it yet OR the audience is the real world.
If you sort through the biblical jumbo the Archetect spills out, he talks about Choice, and destroying humanity by picking the wrong one, and Neo is version 6 of the anomoly/the One of the Matrix. Neo's entire mantra is that predetermined faith is BS, and the archetect's choice of love or sense is conveyed. Now in the first Matrix, Love conquers all (lame, but that was what inspired Neo to become God-boy) and in this one, Love is better than coming to your senses. All of that is to constantly go against the grain. Neo is still driven by how deep the rabbit hole is and not being satisfied by what he's shown.
Whopee freakin' do, but look instead at these two pivotal moments:
Agent Smith's entry into the real world. How does he do it?
Neo stops the machines. How does he do it?
Because - - - Zion was never real. Agent Smith was just able to download his programming into an avatar of the real. Neo was able to sense the code of the machines and affect the programming of the real.
Maybe the machine story isn't real. Maybe the brothers will really screw us up at the end of Revolutions and pan to a Best Buy shelf with the Enter the Matrix game showing, and that's what the Matrix has been all along: Characters tortured for our entertainment. Alex Winter shows up to buy his copy, and the credits roll.
I've only seen it once, and I'm going to see it again with this filter. Maybe I'm wrong. But the only premise better than our lives aren't real, is that we've awaken to a different dream.

By the way, I absolutely loved the flick. After reading my self-absorbed post, I felt I was criticizing it too much to reveal what I really thought about it. The set pieces were great, and once Neo talks to the Oracle it really forms into 90 minutes of the best damn sci-fi flick I've ever seen. Just the pure cinematic touch the brothers have is almost on par with Hitchcock. Also, I bet there is some meaning to the rave scene, it just skipped my radar.

whoever wrote this shitty review is the biggest god damn moron. and is obviously gay. Reloaded had the 2nd best opening ever, grossing $93.3 million, what that means is ur a fuckin idiot. You didnt understand the movie, so you didnt like it, and you think everyone else thinks the same. Well I really hope you get fired because im never going to read another one of your reviews, hell I didnt even finish this one. its just that shitty. I mean the machines havent even reached Zion yet, in the movie they're talking about the ships that were sent to stop the sentinals, the machines destroyed all of those.. not the city, shit, thats more proof u didnt understand the movie. You need to get lessons from Neill Cumpston, and I hope he replaces you. fuckin fag.
p.s. my friend says to eat iguana balls

and in the second week its sales dropped by 50%, losing to FUCKING BRUCE ALMIGHTY. What a piece of trash that was...
The reloaded was just not great, it was thin on plot, and people started to get the word out about this after everyone saw it.

Not that anybody reads this, but I thought it might provoke some kind of reaction. a FIST reaction...
As far as Seraph is concerned - I think it's the fact
the he and the Oracle are *independent* programs, as
opposed to the Agents (of the System). They're
imbedded in the code, while the indie programs
actually *know* what's going on. Hence, that's why
Agent Smith *still* doesn't realize that while he's in
the *Zion* world, he's still in the Matrix.
i also saw it on Friday night (the proverbial (:45
showing - which was seetness 'cause there were
seriously 10 people in the entire theater). Many
things became MORE crystalized for me. I listened to
the Architect a little more and quite enjoyed the
"you're the remainder of the equation" talk. All
people are given a choice (As per the Oracle's
recommendation to Master Control), which makes it all
work, but it's still all bs. Beautiful.
As for the preview... I don't think it excludes
anything that we've talked about - it's just the
action portion of getting us to the final point of
interest. You GWHOTTA have the blau factor, or it
won't appease "the mASSes," but it's the subtler
points that concern us.

Dougprine, that's a good theory. I read recently that the Wachowski brothers got a lot of their inspiration for the Matrix from the book Godel, Escher, Bach: an eternal golden braid. I read it and sure enough, it's obvious that they got the red pill/blue pill idea from page 106 (to take one idea). The idea is that the blue or red pill pushes you into a picture or context or pops you out of it, respectively. In this part of the book characters were reading a book about the characters themselves reading a book and popping in and out of various contexts. It would indeed be interesting if Neo pops out of the Matrix/Zion into our world. Maybe Keanu Reeves can make surprise appearances at theaters!

Hi all - I haven't written here yet in this talkback, but before this movie came out I posted a few times that I wouldn't be interested in this movie unless it had some plot change like "Neo being a machine or something akin to that". Despite the fact that I was (partially) right, I'm STILL not quite happy with this movie. First of, a lot of it felt "soulless", which is the term the Matrix people used to describe the new Star Wars movies. I also read that we would "get it" a lot better if we played the accompanying video game. I think making movies as vehicles to sell video games is a nasty, awful way of filmmaking. I also thought the plot was internally inconsistent: someone please explain to me HOW it's possible that the designer of the Matrix is in fact part of it? Another Talkbacker, carolignian, commented on "Godel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter. I think that if the movie makers really understood this book, they would have realized that the Architect is an impossibility (thought I realize that that might be their point). Still, I welcome this new addition to the first Matrix movie, and I reserve final judgement until I see the third movie.

I hate to say it...I loath to think it...But Harry's review was almost as dead on balls accurate as it could be.......
I wanted to like this movie...a lot...wanted it to rock...I didn't and it doesn't...
---------------------------------
Shit, I even damnpened my expectations with some of the negative reviews (and MUCH more surprisingly, some negative reviews from freinds who saw it a day earlier).
The Matrix Reloaded was a decent mediocre-average summer action flik...NOTHING more...
Other than visually, this movie really failed almost every time it had the opportunity to do so...
--------------------------------
A hundred Smith's...really kinda goofy, but OK, coulda been cool, but unfortunately as Harry pointed out Neo took like 15 steps backward on his personal evolutionary scale as was ABUNDANTLY clear in that confrontation...Neo couldn't kill 1 ... NOT 1 agent Smith...In fact he LOST THE FREAKING FIGHT...Neo had to run like a bitch...he couldn't deal with all the Smith's...not the image I had at the end of "The Matrix" of "The One"...Shit all the Smiths just kept getting back up like some scary bad GI joe cartoon where no one dies...Neo should have been a whirlswind of destruction...instead he had to run away...didn't Snap 1 Smith neck...Then (like Harry pointed out) Neo Runs, and Smith just like walks away...Wow...talk about the sound and the fury accomplishing nothing...
--------------------------------
The fight with the Oracle's bodyguard....someone PLEASE tell me what the fuck the meaning of that was...it was like "insert gratutious meaningless fight scene" No reason for it, and no RESULT EITHER...shit again NO ONE WINS! Dude is this "the one", or his retarded twin? What the hell was the point of that entire scene?
(I can answer that...THERE IS NONE)
-------------------------------
The fight with the vampires or whatever...Harry is right on...
A) why the hell does no one die in this movies big fight scenes? Here goes another 8 minute fight scene where "the supposed one" can't kill ANYTHING...and weopons somehow take on the quality they have in "the A-Team" (i.e. you might as well drop the weopons and punch someone, because the laws of this movies physics somehow dictate that weapons are somehow unable to ever hit anything other than a prop).
--------------------------------
The oracle's revelation that she is a program...Most people liked this...I think it SUCKS...how anti-climactic, what was a mysterious prophet has to be cheapened by the Matrix version of midichlorians...she can't prohecize...she computes freely dude...l-a-m-e.
--------------------------------
Even the freaking Architect, yeah a neat conversation, very interesting...but Now Zion has been destroyed 6 times!!!...What the fuck is that?
So basically, the 1st movie is now utterly meaningless...the whole "save morpheous because we have to kill him beacuse he has Zions code" thing is MEANINGLESS...they don't NEED the code, they can just wipe Zion off the map at will...even Agent Smith was just jerking off in movie 1 now...the computers don't NEED the supid code....Also now the one has been replictaed 6 times...not 1, and Morpheous (previusly the coolest wisest dude this side of Yoda), is now a complete idiot who could not be more wrong about EVERYTHING...(although the next movie may make Morpheus luck back into wisdom as this 6th "one" will help them win somhow).
The sad thing is upon reflection, the movie gets worse...and it seems more and more obvious that the Brothers "W" really had no more story to tell, after Neo's speech at the end of the original...so they slapped this together in a vain attempt at another "go"...
In fact I just watched the original again...and it is sad how far apart these movies are in quality, and class...very sad indeed.
But hey at least the car chase in "unloaded" was cool.

You are a retard if you think that a big opening for a movie means that people like it. People go see a movie on the first weekend because they hope to like it. They pay their money and then whether they like it or not, it still adds to a big weekend. How stupid can you be not to realize this basic reality???

Harry's review was right on the money. It is a pity that his "werewolf" comments were a bit too much, because they distract from the "meat" of his review which is absolutley correct. This movie has little soul......It still had some great action scenes. I'll buy the DVD just for the scenes of Neo flying which were done very well and with great spirit. The "Burly Brawl" was good and fun too...... I just downloaded the movie from the newsgroups and rewatching it this way lets me pick up on more stuff. First, did you notice that when Neo flys during the early part of the movie, he goes up into the air and strikes a pose that is very similar to the cover of Superman #1 from the 1930s? I think this is very clever and nice homage to that cover.....Also, I think all the doors in the movie are inspired by Alice In Wonderland which had a big influence on the first film as well (according to the Wachowskis). Also, the weird people he meets like the French guy and the Keymaker are odd characters like in AIW..... I agree with the theories that the "Real World" is probably part of the Matrix, just becuase Neo stops the Sentinels there and because the Architect has footage of Neo in the real world that he shows on those monitors......Some people don't seem to notice that the guy infected by Agent Smith slices his hand so he can shake Neo's hand and get blood on him. I think he "infects" Neo this way. I don't think he was trying to kill himn here. Right after that scene someone hands neo the spoon in a towel, which is why Neo doesn't notice the blood on his hands later....I think Agent Smith will end up being a "good guy" in the next film or he will have some other devious intent that we are not aware of.....Watching the "rave" scene again just reminds me how pointless it is. In fact they spend about 27 minutes early in the film in Zion where little interesting happens. They could have cut this to 8 or 9 minutes nad not lost anything important. But the Wachowskis made the film they wanted to see and I respect them for that. It is still a crappy film, but I can't take away the visuals at times and like I said, I will probably buy the DVD even though It think the movie sucks as a whole. But with the DVD, I can FF to the good parts and it will be worth it.

Uh dude, where's you car?
Please stop smoking crack before you attempt to make a point...a "Huge opening weekend" makes a movie "great" about as automatically as a nerd cumming equates to said nerd just having had great sex with a supermodel.
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By that logic you are a HUGE...(I mean flaming huge) Leonardo Decaprio fan who's favorite movie is most likely Titanic, and the greatest Star Wars movie is no doubt "The Phantom Menace" in your world.
Shit Aleins made like 80 Million in total US dollars, it MUST have been a mediiocre movie...right? right?
Please fellas, ditch the money equals awesome movie crapola...

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. Every single action/fight scene in the movie went on and on and on. They went on so long, I had time to consider the varieties of CGI employed. Especially the completely pointless fight with Agent Smith (x 100). The CGI was so disappointing...it looked like cut scenes from a video game. Took me completely out of the flick. While Harry can let his inner-fanboy rule his writing, he nailed most of the internal flaws of the film, especially with Neo's sudden and unexplained loss of ability to control the reality created by the Matrix.
Whether the Brothers W were just tired, or whether they we swinging for the fence will only be revealed when M3 shows up...it could be that M2 was just the slow second act of a 7 hour movie.

You made great points in your post overall. I never thought about how pointless it makes the first movie, regarding trying to get the codes for Zion, when now they don't really need them. It is just absurd. I guess I will try to watch the first Matrix like I watch the first Star Wars, and try to forget that all the lame-ass sequels ever occured....
The only thing I will disagree with you about is I don't have any problem with no Agent Smiths getting killed. Remember that Agent Smith is not a person, but a computer program, so he is not going to bleed or be in pain, etc. Sure Neo could have taken him out like he did at the end of the first movie, but I figure he just felt like standing there and fighting all the Smith's for fun and he didn't see a reason to destroy him again. Of course I shouldn't have to theorize this..it should have been stated overtly in the film if this was the case....I first thought the "Burly Brawl" was a bit dopey and disappointing, but watching it more on my computer has given me a new appreciation for it. It is just a very fun and spirited scene and it makes me smile to watch it. So it doesn't totally make sense, but it is still fun to watch and one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal film.

Funny that you mentioned forgetting the sequels existed in Star Wars and The Matrix, because I didn't say anything about that, but have been thinking along those same lines...especially when I watch matrix (I), where it is just so undone and weakened by the sequel...(although thinking of a young Vader as a whining girl is bothersome as well).
I guess my bottom line on the Agent Smith x 100 theme is that I could have bought into it much more if Neo hadn't become so useless against them...even if he doesn't "break their code" like in the 1st one, I would expect him to be killing them in hand to hand combat. Remember that the Agent's take over "people's" bodies, and that those bodies still die like any other when they are subjected to a bullet or or sever damage (they are just tougher and much harder to hit)...so I would have expected Neo to be breaking a bunch of smith necks or something...sure Smith could still "jump" to another body (or maybe only the "last/original" smith can do that)...but my main issue is that Neo can't even seem to kill any smith's in hand to hand combat, and that gives the fight a toony/video game feel...(actually like all the other fights in this movie), because no one dies...and that is a stark contrast to the 1st movie, where the fights had so much drama...they felt more "real" because agents and humans could...and did...die in those fights....I don't know why the Brother's "W" seemed to miss that here.

half the comments people are making deems to indicate they didnt watch the film! firstly a ton of people died! all the goons in the chateau got killed unless ure implying a large spiky piece of metal spliting ure head open isnt death, trinty gets killed, morpheous and the keymaker almost do except for neo's intervention. how does killing 1 agent mean u can kill 100?! it doesnt, the point of the matrix is its mental capacity, the concentration ud need to fight 100 people at once is imense! he doesnt have any problems with the 3 agents at the start does he?! too many people seem to be taking the end of the first film as some kind of concrete lead into the sequals, threatening the machines with his powers and actualy fighting them are 2 different things entirely! (do we see luke destroying the empire in star wars? no y? they all know his power, because it takes time obviously) he has taught his ship mates some of his skills as is blatantly obvious trinty fighting the agents and morpheous basicly winning his battle with an agent. but they can only be taught so much as the one isnt just a human whos better at understanding the rules of the matrix he is himself different so obviously nobody else can reach his level. as for ruining the first film it does not, why would the machines want zions codes? well because then they dont need to fight do they? y send an army if u can hack in seems pretty obvious to me. thats assuming the agents know about any previous matrix's there have been , so far it seems only older programs are aware of it maybe the agents arent as theres no need for them to be.

Your reaching a bit dude. Even if you want to say that Neo can't kill 100 agents at once (fine, not what a lot of us got from a guy who can now change and break code at will and basically beat that same agent while not even having to look at him the last time they fought)...even if you want to go with that theory (which is fine, I don;t buy it, but I could be happy with it if it was done well), the problem is 2 fold.
1) Neo could not even kill 1 agent smith in that fight...NOT 1!, which made the fight come off like a gi-joe cartoon, and
2) Smith did not start that fight with 100 of him...there were like 5, then they just kept coming...Neo didn't do jack shit to 5 on 1 either...he was DEFINEITELY a huge downgrade from the guy we saw at the end of 1.
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And the bigger problem was this movie just seemed to keep going there too, with the best example being the utterly meaningless and equally, if not even more pussified Neo not able to even look like he was really winning a 1 on 1 fight with the Oracle's bodyguard...shit maybe the bodyguard is the one.
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Finally this didn't ruin the 1st movie? Dude were you watching? The machines don't care if they can win a little easier...they are "VERY PROFICIENT" at destroying Zion...done it 6 times already...its NO BIG DEAL for them...the WHOLE PREMISE of the survival of Zion in #1 was "the machines CAN'T BE ALLOWED to get the code", Smith was so freaked out desparate to get it that he stopped acting like a freaking machine and got EMOTIONAL about his need for it! Turns out that was all a jerk-off contest for all it's importance...it was MEANINGLESS....code...not needed, basically the difference between taking the train or a car to get to a foregone conclusion...the machines don;'t give a shit how they get there, they have multiple ways of destroying Zion....sort of comes off like the classic Dallas TV show year where Bobby(?) one of the brother s died...next season he came back (contrarct was resighned)...and it was like oh yeah all that other shit from last year was someones dream...just ignore that...
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And just to bitch more because it just so doent work is the oraclke as a program...how the shit will a programn know "1 of you will die" who is up to you...we now have programs with Future telling capability...how gay....really....this movie just seemed to keep taking left turns...shock value over a tight story...too bad the 1st movie was the best in at least half a decacade...they just couldn't keep it going anywhere near that level.

May 31, 2003, 2:52 p.m. CST

by commy

nice argument but ure forgeting that only neo knows that zion has bene destroyed multiple times. so to everyone else its top priority not to let the machine sget those codes ebcause to their knowledge the machine shave never beaten zion. also ure ausming that agents are aware of the existance of previous incarnations of the matrix, quite posisnley they arent the matrix and the world of the sentinals quite probably arent in direct comunication. or perhaps they need the codes now because the one is more powerful than before and their armies arent yet ready we know neo is more powerful than his previous versions. as for the smith fight we know neo isnt willing to leap into smith or any agent again and there is quite probably no way of beating an agent accept to do the code leap. neo cant bend code at will he has the ability to alter some code with concentraction he cant reverse gravity build walls or magic weapons out of thin air. it obvious takes alot of effort note that it takes a few seconds for him to take off where he has to "focus" so i dont see a problem with him not being able to leap from defeating 1 smith to 100 maybe in 3rd film but id have been worried to see him that powerful so quickly

Actually I am not forgetting that only Neo...and the architect...and probably the oracle...know about the 6 destructions of Zion, and I realize that logically you could say Smith does not know about the 6 destructions (although hiding that from an agent program makes no sense at all)....the bottom line is that just like the dream in dallas analogy (which technially is also "plausible" on a logical level)...it is very goofy on a "story" level as it DOES make the first movie's high drama Zion zaving theme a complete jerk off contest...it DOESNT MATTER if you can argue that the principals involved don't know they are just jerking off ...this theme WEAKENS the 1st movie imessurably, because when YOU or I watch it now, we know it is a big...fat ....meaningless...jerk off contest that accomplishes...NOTHING!
ANY sequel that does that to the original is a failure...sequels should (if anything) STRENGTHEN the original, not weaken it...
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The Agent smith fight...dude Neo CAN code break....he has done it...and no one says he HAS to jump in to a BODY TO DO IT....My main problem, however, is that aside from this...AGNETS CAN MOST CERTAINLY BE KILLED...or THIER AVATARS CAN anyways...in #1 trinity blew one's head off, neo killed a few with a machine gun...and Smith's avatar was killed by a train...here NEO CANNOT KILL 1 FREAKING AVATAR IN HAND TO HAND COMBAT...NOT 1! That is a HUGE neo down grade no matter how you slice it (and makes the fight sanitized and lame)...
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And I keep mentioning the Oracles body guard....what a pussy Neo was in that fight too...looks like Neo's retarded 1/2 brother replaced him in this movie...shit he wasn't even WINNING that fight! (which also had a high school writing "let's fight, just to fight cause there is no logic to it" quality...and it was a lame fight to boot... with no drama AGAIN.
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And don' get me wrong I love the Matrix concept....I tried to like this movie so much that I didn't want to admit it was weak at first...but there's no way around it...the movie just gets weaker the more I think about it...I hate to/ say it...but damn it was medicocre...

You are entitled to your opinion of M-R of course, but here are my answers to some of your questions/claims. You say "...
Neo took like 15 steps backward on his personal evolutionary scale...in that...(he) couldn't kill 1 agent Smith...In fact he LOST THE FREAKING FIGHT."**I don

Well you were not shitting me about a long post...damn...
Well to rebut:
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Agent Smith may be "new", but he doen't fight any better, and he's still just a computer program agent who now can multiply...neo is "the one" (although you cant tell from this movie)...and he STILL can't kill 1 smith, you can slice and dice it any way you want to, but that's weak...and he DID lose..he ran because he had no other option...he couldn't win, so he ran....and shit I could even deal with him being overwhelmed by a bunch of super smiths (although it still seems lame), but what really made the scene fail is that he couldn't even kill any of them...at least 15 steps back...
And yes expecxtations do play a part in my disappointment, as they would play in yours if it was a few levels more removed (say it was much less similar to the matrix and there was like 1 fight in the whole movie)...expectations play a role for all of us to a greater or lesser degree...buuuuuuut....that did NOT define my dislike for the movie...a weak story, one that seemed slapped together, and just weakly turned action scenes with no drama are what make me dislike it.
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The fight with the oracles body guard...uh yes I realize he said to fight is to know...blah blah blah...that is a premise a 5th grader would write in to contrive a fight, shit the oracle knows who he is, she "knows when he is coming", yet now we need a fight because to know you is to fight you...gay...gay in the extreme, and one that breaks the groundrules of the oracle in the 1st movie...it is an inconsistency put in there to...place another martial arts fight (and not a very good one, let alone dramatic one at that)
The oracle suddenly doesn't know neo is coming where she has always known these things previously, yet you say the purpose is so the saraph can take him to the oracle? Dude to say that is a reach is a glorious understatement...NO PURPOSE...and NO RESULT! The 1st movie never insulted us with fights that had no purpose AND no results...this movie seemed to repeatedly do this...
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Also the fight stopping does not make saraph good, for all we know the oracle is just leading Neo to the source to fail like she lead all the others there...We actually learn nothing of a machine's good or evil in this scene....saraph was supposedly protecting her against other programs, that is self serving, not "Good". The oracle just knows Neo won't kill her, so they appartently were seeking his identity (which she just knew via being the oracle in the 1st movie).
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yes Neo tries to figure out what he is here to do all movie, but what he ALREADY figured out last movie is that he can defeat ANY program...he fullfilled morpheous' (and the oracles) prophacies by becoming the one at the end...and as morpheous said, a program can never be as fast or stong as he...until saraph...and for no reason!
And no all fights don't have to be to the death....in fact this movie seems to go out of its way to prove NONE should be to the death...my mind is freee...unfortunatley this movies script is contrained by bad writing and bad fighting that goes barely anywhere...
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Funny you should mention frenchie's place...they are all lying inert at the end, and I don't klnow if their dead either...and that s the problem, they seem knocked out...who the hell knows...the 1st movie resolved fights, gave us drama and pain in them...this movie gives us rubber people who bounce back like in a bugs bunny cartoon, and we aren't sure how the fights are resolved...the sound and the fury...signifying nothing...
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THe oracle: yes I admit others seem to like this, I think it makes no logical sense- as how the hell can a computer program have fortune telling capabilities...I find this weak as it sacrifices story tightness just to give us shock value (which is the problem with the whole movie...lets make godfather 3 where everything is reversed, just to shock even though that makes the story more feeble).
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Actually the architect scene is not a big pronblem for me. the 6 Zions is goofy b/c it makes the 1st movies zion saving a jerk off festival, but this scene WAS interesting, and we admitteldy don't know what it means yet.
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I am not buying the zion codes are a short cut without war, if Zion has been destroyed 6 times, and they are good at it, then the point is mute, the mnachines dont NEED the code one bit....not at all.
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I agree that morpheius is good, and neo the one...we don't disagree there...I think what is most likely as the last plot twist is Zion is in a program too as evidenced by Neo/the sentinals, and Smith coming outside the matrix...Maybe thats not it...but if so that is an intersesting plot twist.,...that confirms the 1st movie zion stufff is a circle jerk to accomplish nothing...well see though.

I just had had an epiphany about where the movie is headed in Revolutions. The humans don't seem to stand a chance against the machines, but how about if humans and good machines team up against the bad machines? Agent Smith says that Neo "set him free" and we already know there are rogue programs like the "Keymaker" who are targets of deletion/death by the machines that run the Matrix. Therefore, in Revolutions, the humans and the good machines/programs will team up and overthrow and defeat the Matrix! Agent Smith will end up being a "good guy" and his ability to duplicate will make a huge army to fight the machines. I bet Neo is half machine/half human and he will be the link that will bring the machines and humans together. This is a brilliant theory...Watch and learn, young jedis.

Of course Mr. Monkey is making some great points. I think the Wachowskis did not plan to make sequels to the first movie, so at the end of the first film they accidentally made Neo too strong and had to "pussify" him in the new one so he could fight others competitively. Plus the Matrix "universe" from the first film is just too different from the one in this film. For one the Agents are terrible shots in this one as they can't even hit someone in a car with a machine gun after 500 shots, and that one could barely hit Trinity after firing a multitude of shots straight at her when falling out the window. The Bros. Wachowskis just got sloppy on this film...no way around it. There are just too many plot holes and too many inconsistencies. I'm not saying they didn't try and/or work their asses off to make it good, but they just weren't up to the task in many areas. They did provide some great visuals and great action, but failed miserably in other areas that just seem unnecessary to many of us. They nailed the Neo flying scenes though, so props to them for that.

Mr Monkey...I think I like it...I think...
The flying was done well...hopefully the W's will pull it off in #3, but as someone else mentioned earlier, it is of concern that 2&3 were shot at once not allowing for them to improve...as Luca$$ did with AOTC...(AOTC still had it's issues, but no matter what camp Luca$$ says, he would have certainly had much more jar jar than he did in AOTC if people weren't so rightly mocking him for 3 years about it).

I was afraid that this is what would happen...and I'm so disappointed that I'm right.
I would've enjoyed the movie a helluva lot more if there NEVER HAD BEEN a first movie. Then I could've just written this one off as a slick, visual effects bonanza full of pretty people in hot outfits.
But...the W's made the mistake of giving the first movie a really great STORY in addition to the eye candy. And so, unfortunately, I can't let them off for this one. When the story wasn't taking a complete backseat to the orgy/rave and the fight sequences that went on WAAAAAY TOO LONG, it was buried underneath pages of obscure, answer-a-question-with-a-question-dialogue. But even so...I think I got most of it.
Okay, so, correct me if I'm wrong...but the general idea is that ol' Neo IS the One...but he's not the FIRST One. There've been others before him, and Zion's been built and destroyed several times during the existence of the Matrix. And basically, all THE ONE does...is appear when the humans start getting too smart, and go on this wild goose chase to find the mainframe so he can just restart the friggin' computer.
Okey dokey. That's, uh...that's pretty LAME. Four YEARS and that's the BEST they could come up with? I mean, I understand that the story's not over yet, but...doesn't that mean then, that Zion (and the 'real world') is just another Matrix? And that all these 'freed minds' are not really 'free' after all? So, I mean...where does that leave everybody? And I don't even know that I'm right in thinking all this...but they weren't exactly real big on clueing the audience in. In fact, I got the distinct impression that they ENJOYED the fact that they were confusing people. Unlike the first movie, where they took great care to make things fairly clear WITHOUT spoon-feeding, this one just DUMPED huge amounts of expository dialogue on us and just expected us to figure it out. Y'know what THAT'S called? It's called SLOPPY STORYTELLING.
So to make up for what they're sorely lacking in that department, they just double up on the fight scenes and visual effects. I mean, that fight with Agent Smith?? Don't get me wrong, I love the guy...but, um...WHAT WAS HE DOING THERE??? He had NO PURPOSE, but he just kept popping up. And that fight scene went on so long, it was SILLY. I mean, first of all...Neo is THE ONE, right? So WHY IN THE HELL does he even NEED to engage this guy??? He can FLY, for chrissake! I mean, okay...a fight scene with them IS a cool idea, but why does it need to go on for what feels like HOURS? And then